Europaudvalget 2019-20
EUU Alm.del Bilag 900
Offentligt
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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
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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