U.S. President endorses Belarus Democracy Act of 2020

<p> MINSK, Dec 28 - PrimePress. U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020, White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere wrote on Twitter on December 27, 2020. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The Act expands the expands the U.S. president’s authority to impose sanctions related to Belarus in connection with the 2020 presidential election against election organizers, Belarusian officials and officials of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. Sanctions may also be applied to top officials’ family members. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The U.S. does not recognize the election results of August 9, 2020 and incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko as “the legitimately elected leader of Belarus.” The Coordinating Council is recognized “as a legitimate institution to participate in a dialogue on a peaceful transition of power.” </p> <p>   </p> <p> Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the total assets under the direct or indirect control of Alexander Lukashenko, including estimated assets and known sources of income of Alexander Lukashenko and his immediate family members, including assets, investments, bank accounts, and other business interests. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The U.S. expresses support for the sovereignty of Belarus, does not recognize any incorporation of Belarus into a ‘Union State’ with Russia, as this so-called ‘Union State’ would be both an attempt to absorb Belarus and a step to reconstituting the totalitarian Soviet Union. The U.S. stays determined to deter the government of Russia from undermining democratic processes and institutions in Belarus or threatening the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Belarus. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act of 2020, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the threat the government of Russia poses to the sovereignty and independence of Belarus. The report shall include an assessment of how the government of Russia is exploiting the current political crisis in Belarus to push for deeper political and economic control of or integration with Belarus, a description of the economic and energy assets in Belarus that the government of Russia, including Russian state-owned or state-controlled companies, controls, a description of Belarus major enterprises that are vulnerable of being taken over by Russian entities amid the country’s worsening financial crisis, a description of how and to what ends the government of Russia seeks to augment its military presence in Belarus, and a description of Russian influence over the media and information space in Belarus and how the government of Russia uses disinformation and other malign techniques to undermine Belarusian history, culture, and language. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The United States seeks to expand its diplomatic presence in Belarus to advocate for the aspirations of the people of Belarus for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. The U.S. also continues to call for the immediate release without preconditions of all political prisoners in Belarus, including all those individuals detained in connection with the August 9, 2020 presidential election. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The U.S. will support and reallocate resources to radio, television, and internet broadcasting in languages spoken in Belarus by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to the people of Belarus, other independent media providing objective information to the Belarusian people, particularly in the Belarusian language, the development and use of anti-censorship and circumvention technologies and counteraction to disinformation, including that coming from Russian propagandists working in Belarus. </p> <p>   </p> <p> It is also planned to increase support for the development of the private sector, particularly the information technology sector, and its role in the economy of Belarus, including by increasing the capacity of private sector actors, developing business support organizations, offering entrepreneurship training, and expanding access to finance for small and medium enterprises, and support political refugees in neighboring European countries fleeing the crackdown in Belarus. </p> <p>   </p> <p> As previously reported, the U.S. Senate and the Congress approved the Belarus Democracy Act on December 21, 2020 and on November 18, 2020, respectively. On December 22, the U.S. also expanded the sanctions list against the Belarusian authorities to include some security agencies and the Central Election Commission. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the imposition of visa-blocking sanctions against 39 persons involved in the undermining of Belarus’ democracy. The Foreign Ministry of Belarus said on December 24 that the U.S. sanctions impose a “dictatorship of human rights” in Belarus, and “a response would be not long in coming.” End </p>

2020-12-29

Primepress