EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 900: Udtalelse vedr. Hviderusland fra det litauiske parlament

Europaudvalget 2019-20
EUU Alm.del Bilag 900
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SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

STATEMENT

ON THE SITUATION IN BELARUS

12 August 2020

Vilnius

The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania,

emphasising

that the results of the presidential election held in Belarus on 9 August 2020 were

falsified;

noting

that no international organisation has recognised any of the parliamentary and

presidential elections held in Belarus to date as free and fair; while peaceful protests by the

Belarusian population held immediately after 9 August 2020 were suppressed by brutal force,

which resulted in arrests and injuries of thousands of protestors and at least one loss of life;

reminding

that the freedom of expression and right to democracy in Belarus have been

deliberately restricted by the Belarusian authorities over the past 26 years, while

representatives of the opposition in the country have been regularly arrested or otherwise

persecuted;

fully supports

the determination

of the Belarusian people to build their country’s future in

accordance with the principles of democracy, rule of law and human rights, so as to ensure

freedom, independence and faster rapprochement of Belarus with the European Union;

calls on

the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and other authorised institutions of Lithuania

to deny recognition to the results of the elections held in Belarus on 9 August 2020 and likewise

deny recognition to President Lukashenko as a legitimate leader of Belarus; to call on the

parliaments of all democratic states

to support Lithuania’s position

and, together with the

European Union, demand the organisation of new and transparent elections in Belarus that

would comply with all the democratic procedures; to demand the immediate release of all the

imprisoned opposition and civil society representatives; to demand putting an end to the use of

violence against peaceful demonstrators and ensuring the freedom of press, freedom of

assembly, and other political and civil rights in Belarus;

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 900: Udtalelse vedr. Hviderusland fra det litauiske parlament

calls on

the Government of the Republic of Lithuania to immediately draw up, in cooperation

with representatives of Belarusian civil society, a list of Belarusian officials liable for or

contributing to the forgery of the results of the presidential elections and violations of civil and

human rights in Belarus, with a view to banning their entry to Lithuania; and to call on other

EU Member States, the European Parliament, and other allies to, accordingly, ban the entry of

the listed representatives of Belarus to the Schengen area and allied states in the non-Schengen

area, as well as to urgently adopt a European universal human rights sanctions regime;

calls on

the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, together with the European Union, to

actively support Belarusian non-governmental organisations and communities and provide

them with additional direct support and asylum in EUMS if needed, and accordingly limit any

financial or other support to the state institutions of Belarus;

calls on

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania to mediate, should the opportunity arise,

in the dialogue between the Belarusian civil society and the Belarusian authorities with a view

to implementing the above requirements; also calls on the European Union to hold an

extraordinary meeting of the Council of the European Union to discuss the situation in Belarus

and raise the issue of enforcing an EU-wide embargo on the electricity produced by Astravyets

NPP;

supports

the idea of holding an extraordinary session of the Seimas to discuss the situation in

Belarus together with representatives of the Belarusian civil society.

Juozas Bernatonis

Chair