SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
RESOLUTION
On the situation in the Republic of Belarus
following the FALSIFIED presidential elections
18 August 2020 No XIII-3281
Vilnius
emphasising that the results of the presidential elections held in the Republic of Belarus on 9 August 2020 have been falsified,
noting that no international organisation has recognised any of either the parliamentary or presidential elections held in Belarus to date as free and fair, and that peaceful protests by the Belarusian population held immediately after 9 August 2020 have been suppressed by brutal force resulting in thousands of protestors being arrested, wounded, some killed,
reminding that the freedom of expression and right to democracy in Belarus have been constantly curtailed by the Belarusian authorities in recent decades, while representatives of the opposition in the country have often been arrested or otherwise persecuted,
welcoming the plan for resolving the crisis in Belarus presented to the Belarusian authorities by Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania, which proposes to urgently de-escalate the situation and to halt the use of brutal force, to release all the arrested protesters and to put an end to their persecution as well as to initiate the government’s dialogue with the citizens,
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 leaders of the Republic of Lithuania, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the national parliaments and governments of EU Member States and NATO countries and:
1) urges to deny recognition of the results of the elections held in Belarus on 9 August 2020 and likewise deny recognition of President Alexander Lukashenko as a legitimate leader of Belarus;
2) invites to call for holding new and transparent presidential and parliamentary elections in Belarus that would meet the democratic standards, halting the use of violence against peaceful protesters, immediately releasing all the imprisoned members of the opposition and civil society, and ensuring the freedom of press, freedom of assembly and other political and civil freedoms in Belarus;
3) proposes to immediately establish an EU mediation mission for Belarus aimed at helping to resolve the political crisis and regulate the conflict situation in the country;
4) calls for imposing sanctions against Belarusian officials who are responsible for or have contributed to the falsification of the results of the presidential elections in the Republic of Belarus and civil and human rights violations in Belarus;
5) proposes approving the EU global human rights sanctions regime which should allow at the EU level for the imposition of restrictive measures, notably asset freezes and EU entry bans, against any individual responsible for the committing of human rights and freedoms violations as well as other crimes;
6) encourages to provide active and direct support to Belarusian non-governmental organisations and communities, grant necessary asylum to Belarusian citizens in EU Member States if needed, and limit any financial or other support to the state institutions of Belarus.
7) calls for holding an extraordinary meeting of the European Council to discuss the situation in the Republic of Belarus, including the issue of EU-wide embargo on electricity produced by the Belarusian nuclear power plant in Ostrovets.