,,iii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #fhi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ad1 #bjbj,mr4 ,risch 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,graham1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,romney1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,johnson1 ,mr4 ,portman1 and ,mr4 ,kaine7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,condemning the crackdown on peaceful protestors in ,belarus and calling for the imposition of sanctions on responsible officials4 ,whereas ,alyaksandr ,lukashenka has ruled ,belarus as an undemocratic dictatorship since the first presidential election in ,belarus in #aiid2 ,whereas subsequent presidential elections in ,belarus have been neither free nor fair and have been rejected by the international community as not meeting minimal electoral standards1 with the jailing of opposition activists frequently used as a tool of government repression before and after the elections2 ,whereas1 in response to the repression and violence during the #bjjf presidential election1 ,congress passed the ,belarus ,democracy ,reauthorization ,act of #bjjf 7,public ,law #aji-dhj72 ,whereas1 in ,march #bjaa1 the ,senate unanimously passed ,senate ,resolution #aje1 which-- 7#a7 condemned the ,december #bjaj election in ,belarus as illegitimate1 fraudulent1 and not representative of the will or the aspirations of the voters in ,belarus2 and 7#b7 called on the ,lukashenka regime to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners in ,belarus who were arrested in association with the ,december #ai1 #bjaj1 election2 ,whereas1 in advance of the ,august #bjbj presidential elections in ,belarus1 authorities acting on behalf of ,president ,lukashenka arrested journalists1 bloggers1 political activists1 and opposition leaders1 including three leading presidential candidates 7,syarhey ,tsikhanouski1 ,mikalay ,statkevich1 and ,viktar ,babaryka71 who were barred from running in the election by the ,central ,election ,commission of the ,republic of ,belarus2 ,whereas1 while the three opposition candidates were imprisoned1 two of their wives and one of their campaign managers1 ,sviatlana ,tsikhanouskaya1 ,veranika ,tsepkala1 and ,maria ,kalesnikava1 joined together and ran in place of the candidates2 ,whereas thousands of ,belarusian people demonstrated their support for these candidates by attending rallies1 including one rally that included an estimated #fc1jjj participants2 ,whereas1 on ,august1 #e1 #bjbj1 the ,senate unanimously passed ,senate ,resolution #feh1 which calls for a free1 fair1 and transparent presidential election in ,belarus1 including the unimpeded participation of all presidential candidates2 ,whereas presidential elections were held in ,belarus on ,august #i1 #bjbj1 under undemocratic conditions with reports of malfeasance on the part of ,lukashenka's government1 including early voting ballot stuffing1 ballot burning1 pressuring poll workers1 and removing bags full of ballots by climbing out of windows2 ,whereas incumbent president ,alyaksandr ,lukashenka declared a landslide victory in the election and claimed to have received more than #hj percent of the votes cast in the election2 ,whereas the leading opposition candidate1 ,sviatlana ,tsikhanouskaya-- 7#a7 formally disputed the government's reported election results2 7#b7 explained that her staff had examined the election results from more than #ej polling places2 and 7#c7 found that her share of the vote exceeded ,lukashenka's share by many times2 ,whereas1 on ,august #aj1 #bjbj1 ,sviatlana ,tsikhanouskaya was detained while attending a meeting with the ,central ,election ,commission of the ,republic of ,belarus and forced to flee to ,lithuania under pressure from government authorities2 ,whereas1 on ,august #aa1 #bjbj1 ,lithuanian ,foreign ,minister ,linas ,linkeviius announced that ,sviatlana ,tsikhanouskaya was safe in ,lithuania and has continued to be one of the strongest voices supporting the pro-democracy movement in ,belarus within the ,european ,union and globally2 ,whereas1 on ,august #aa1 #bjbj1 the ,european ,union ,high ,representative for ,foreign and ,security ,policy1 ,josep ,borrell1 issued a declaration on the presidential election in ,belarus stating that the elections were neither free nor fair2 ,whereas1 on ,august #ah1 #bjbj1 ,sviatlana ,tsikhanouskaya announced the formation of a ,coordination ,council to oversee a resolution to the crisis in ,belarus and a peaceful transition of power2 ,whereas1 on ,august #ai1 #bjbj1 ,european ,council ,president ,charles ,michel announced that the ,european ,union would impose sanctions on a substantial number of individuals responsible for violence1 repression1 and election fraud in ,belarus2 ,whereas1 on ,august #bh1 #bjbj1 ,united ,states ,deputy ,secretary of ,state ,stephen ,biegun declared that the ,august #ith election in ,belarus was fraudulent2 ,whereas1 since the sham election on ,august #i1 #bjbj1 tens of thousands of ,belarusian citizens have participated in daily peaceful protests calling for a new1 free1 and fair election1 and the release of political prisoners2 ,whereas according to ,amnesty ,international1 on ,august #cj1 #bjbj1 ,belarusians held one of the largest protest rallies in the country's modern history in ,minsk and in other cities1 which was attended by at least #ajj1jjj people who demanded the resignation of ,president ,lukashenka and an investigation into the human rights violations in ,belarus2 ,whereas women have played a leading role in the protests1 including by forming peaceful solidarity chains of thousands of ,belarusians symbolically dressed in white2 ,whereas more than #g1jjj ,belarusian citizens have been detained by government authorities1 mostly for taking part in or observing peaceful protests1 with many of these arrests followed by beatings and torture at the hands of ,belarusian law enforcement2 ,whereas authorities in ,belarus have consistently restricted press freedom as part of the crackdown1 including-- 7#a7 the arrest of dozens of journalists1 six of whom report for ,radio ,free ,europe_/,radio ,liberty2 7#b7 blocking more than #ej news websites that were covering the protests2 7#c7 halting the publishing of two independent newspapers2 and 7#d7 stripping the accreditation of journalists working for foreign news outlets2 ,whereas internet access in ,belarus has been repeatedly disrupted and restricted since ,august #i1 #bjbj1 which independent experts and monitoring groups have attributed to government interference2 ,whereas after employees of state media outlets walked off the job in protest rather than help report misleading government propaganda1 ,lukashenka confirmed that he asked the ,russians to send teams of ,russian journalists to replace local employees2 ,whereas ,lukashenka appealed to ,russian ,president ,vladimir ,putin to provide security assistance to his government1 if requested1 and ,putin confirmed that a reserve police force was ready to be deployed if the situation gets out of control2 ,whereas the ,belarus ,ministry of ,defense threatened to send the army to confront protestors1 warning that in case of any violation of peace and order in areas around national monuments1 you will have the army to deal with now1 not the police2 ,whereas1 according to the ,viasna ,human ,rights ,centre1 at least #dej detainees have reported being tortured or otherwise ill-treated while held in incommunicado detention for up to #aj days1 including through-- 7#a7 severe beatings2 7#b7 forced performance of humiliating acts2 and 7#c7 sexual violence and other forms of violence2 ,whereas at least four ,belarusians have been killed at protests1 and dozens of ,belarusians who were detained during the protests are still missing2 ,whereas1 on or around ,september #f1 #bjbj1 the opposition leader1 ,maria ,kalesnikava1 and members of the ,coordination ,council1 including ,anton ,ronenkov1 ,ivan ,kravtsov1 and ,maxim ,bogretsov1 were detained by authorities who sought to forcibly expel them to ,ukraine2 ,whereas opposition leader ,maria ,kolesnikova tore up her passport at the ,ukrainian border in a successful effort to prevent this expulsion1 subsequently disappeared1 and was discovered in a ,minsk prison on ,september #i1 #bjbj2 ,whereas the ,international ,covenant on ,civil and ,political ,rights1 done at ,new ,york ,december #ai1 #aiff1 was ratified by ,belarus in #aigc1 guaranteeing ,belarusians the freedom of expression and the freedom of association2 and ,whereas1 in #bjjf1 ,president ,george ,w4 ,bush issued ,executive ,order #acdje1 titled ,blocking ,property of ,certain ,persons ,undermining ,democratic ,processes or ,institutions in ,belarus1 which authorized the imposition of sanctions against persons responsible for-- 7#a7 undermining democratic processes in ,belarus2 or 7#b7 participating in human rights abuses related to political repression in ,belarus3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 finds that-- 7,a7 the elections held in ,belarus on ,august #i1 #bjbj1 were neither free nor fair2 and 7,b7 the results announced by the ,central ,election ,commission of the ,republic of ,belarus are invalid2 7#b7 stands in solidarity with the people of ,belarus1 including human rights defenders1 bloggers1 and journalists1 who are exercising their right to freedom of assembly1 freedom of expression1 and rule of law2 7#c7 recognizes the leading role of women in the peaceful protests and pro-democracy movement in ,belarus2 7#d7 condemns the unrelenting crackdown on1 arbitrary arrests of1 and violence against peaceful protesters1 opposition leaders1 human rights activists1 and independent media by authorities in ,belarus2 7#e7 condemns the unjustified detention and forced or attempted expulsion of members of the ,coordination ,council in ,belarus2 7#f7 demands the release of all political prisoners and those arrested for peacefully protesting1 including those arrested before the ,august #i1 #bjbj1 election2 7#g7 applauds the commitment by foreign diplomats in ,minsk to engage with ,coordination ,council member and ,nobel ,laureate1 ,svetlana ,alexievich1 and encourages an ongoing dialogue with her and with other leaders of the democratically oriented political opposition in ,belarus2 7#h7 calls on the ,government of ,belarus to uphold its human rights obligations1 including those enumerated in the ,international ,covenant on ,civil and ,political ,rights2 7#i7 calls on the ,united ,states ,government to impose targeted sanctions1 in coordination with the ,european ,union and other international partners1 against officials in ,belarus who are responsible for-- 7,a7 undermining democratic processes in ,belarus2 or 7,b7 participating in human rights abuses related to political repression in ,belarus2 7#aj7 encourages the ,united ,states ,government to continue working with its partners in ,europe1 particularly the ,organization for ,security and ,co-operation in ,europe1 to support the people of ,belarus2 and 7#aa7 supports-- 7,a7 the continued territorial integrity of ,belarus2 and 7,b7 the right of the ,belarusian people to determine their future4