· web viewwhereas following the presidential election on 9 august, which did not comply to the...

AM_Com_NonLegReport

European Parliament

2019-2024

{AFET}Committee on Foreign Affairs

2020/2081(INI)

{02/09/2020}2.9.2020

AMENDMENTS

1 - 388

Draft report

Petras Auštrevičius

(PE652.398v01-00)

Proposal for a Recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on relations with Belarus

(2020/2081(INI))

AM_Com_NonLegReport

Amendment1

Viola Von Cramon-Taubadel

{Greens/EFA}on behalf of the Greens/EFA Group

Motion for a resolution

Citation 2


Amendment

—having regard to the Council conclusions on Belarus of 15 February 2016,

—having regard to the Council conclusions on Belarus of 15 February 2016 and the main outcomes of the video conference of Foreign Affairs Ministers of 14 August 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment2




Citation 2 a (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the Conclusions by the President of the European Council following the video conference of the members of the European Council on 19 August 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment3

Attila Ara-Kovács


Citation 4


Amendment

—having regard to the Joint Declarations of the Eastern Partnership Summits of 2009 in Prague, 2011 in Warsaw, 2013 in Vilnius, 2015 in Riga and 2017 in Brussels,

—having regard to the Joint Declarations of the Eastern Partnership Summits of 2009 in Prague, 2011 in Warsaw, 2013 in Vilnius, 2015 in Riga, 2017 in Brussels and Eastern Partnership leaders' video conference in 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment4

Petras Auštrevičius, Javier Nart, Nathalie Loiseau, Malik Azmani, Hilde Vautmans


Citation 5


Amendment

—having regard to the agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus on the readmission of persons residing without authorisation, which will enter into force on 1 July 20201 ,

—having regard to the agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus on the readmission of persons residing without authorisation, which entered into force on 1 July 20201 ,

__________________

__________________

1 OJ L 182, 10.6.2020, p. 1.

1 OJ L 182, 10.6.2020, p. 1.

Or. {EN}en

Amendment5

Urmas Paet


Citation 6


Amendment

—having regard to the agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus on the facilitation of the issuance of visas2 , which will enter into force on 1 July 2020,

—having regard to the agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus on the facilitation of the issuance of visas2 , which entered into force on 1 July 2020,

__________________

__________________

2 OJ L 180, 9.6.2020, p. 3.

2 OJ L 180, 9.6.2020, p. 3.

Or. {EN}en

Amendment6



Citation 6


Amendment

—having regard to the agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus on the facilitation of the issuance of visas2 , which will enter into force on 1 July 2020,

—having regard to the agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus on the facilitation of the issuance of visas2 , which entered into force on 1 July 2020,

__________________

__________________

2 OJ L 180, 9.6.2020, p. 3.

2 OJ L 180, 9.6.2020, p. 3.

Or. {EN}en

Amendment7

Anna Fotyga, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, Elżbieta Kruk, Kosma Złotowski, Beata Mazurek, Jadwiga Wiśniewska, Witold Jan Waszczykowski, Zdzisław Krasnodębski, Andżelika Anna Możdżanowska, Elżbieta Rafalska, Joanna Kopcińska, Joachim Stanisław Brudziński, Beata Szydło, Adam Bielan


Citation 6 a (new)


Amendment

—having regard to a joint statement on Belarus of EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and ECR groups in the European Parliament of 17 August 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment8




Citation 7 a (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the 6th round of the bilateral Human Rights Dialogue between the EU and Belarus on 18 June 2019 in Brussels,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment9




Citation 7 b (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the Joint Statement by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell and Neighbourhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi of 10 August 2020, as well as the Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the presidential elections in Belarus of 11 August 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment10




Citation 7 c (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the Statement by the EEAS Spokesperson on recent developments in Belarus of 19 June 2020 and the statements by the High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell related to the elections in Belarus of 14 July 2020, 7 August 2020, and 17 August,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment11




Citation 7 d (new)


Amendment

—having regard to statements by the EEAS Spokesperson on the application of the death penalty in Belarus, notably of 30 July 2019, 28 October 2019, 20 December 2019, 11 January 2020, and 7 March 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment12



Citation 8 a (new)


Amendment

—having regard to its recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the Eastern Partnership, in the run-up to the June 2020 Summit,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment13




Citation 8 a (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the Report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus of 10 July 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment14



Citation 8 b (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the statement of the President of the European Parliament calling to stop the violence in Belarus of 13 August 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment15



Citation 8 c (new)


Amendment

—having regard to a common statement on Belarus of political leaders from EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and ECR groups in the European Parliament of 17 August 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment16



Citation 8 d (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the presidential elections in Belarus of 11 August 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment17



Citation 8 e (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the conclusions on Belarus of the European Council on 19 August 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment18



Citation 8 f (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the UN Human Rights Council’s Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus of 10 July 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment19



Citation 8 g (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the UN statements on situation in Belarus, in particular those of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of 12 August 2020, the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights of 13 August 2020, and the Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of 21 August 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment20



Citation 8 h (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the open letter on Diplomatic Watch activities during Presidential Elections 2020 in Belarus, Minsk of 13 August 2020,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment21

Sandra Kalniete, Michael Gahler, Željana Zovko, Andrius Kubilius, Andrzej Halicki, Miriam Lexmann, Paulo Rangel, Isabel Wiseler-Lima, Vladimír Bilčík, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Radosław Sikorski, David McAllister, Tomasz Frankowski, Janina Ochojska


Citation 10 a (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the statement of the President of the European Parliament of 13 August and the leaders of the five political groups of 17 August on the situation in Belarus following the presidential election of 9 August,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment22

David Lega


Citation 10 a (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment23

Sandra Kalniete, Michael Gahler, Željana Zovko, Andrius Kubilius, Andrzej Halicki, Miriam Lexmann, Isabel Wiseler-Lima, Vladimír Bilčík, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Paulo Rangel, Radosław Sikorski, David McAllister, Tomasz Frankowski, Janina Ochojska


Citation 10 b (new)


Amendment

—having regard to the extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council 14 August and European Council on 19 August on the situation in Belarus following the presidential election of 9 August,

Or. {EN}en

Amendment24

Kati Piri


Recital A


Amendment

A.whereas despite the fundamental restrictions on basic freedoms and human rights that remain in Belarus, the EU policy of critical engagement with Belarus has produced some results in the form of signed agreements and increased cooperation; whereas future relations between the EU and Belarus will be defined in the Partnership Priorities to be agreed by both sides;

A.whereas, given the fundamental restrictions on basic freedoms and human rights in Belarus, the fraudulent Presidential elections of 9 August, and the illegitimate regime's violent repression of the nation-wide peaceful pro-democracy protests that followed, the EU policy of critical engagement with Belarus has produced insufficient results in the regime's adherence to the fundamental values of the Eastern Partnership, including democracy, the rule of law, and the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; whereas future relations between the EU and Belarus must be subject to thorough review in view of the regime's lack of adherence to its own commitments under international law and its agreements with the EU;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment25



Recital A


Amendment


A.whereas actions of the Lukashenka’s regime are criminal, against the European values, principles of democracy, and against the will of the Belarusian people; whereas despite the fundamental restrictions on basic freedoms and human rights that remain in Belarus, the EU policy of critical engagement with Belarus has produced some results in the form of signed agreements and increased cooperation; whereas unlawful actions of Belarusian regime jeopardize these results and risk causing negative consequences to the EU - Belarus relations; whereas future relations between the EU and Belarus will be defined in the Partnership Priorities to be agreed by both sides;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment26

Arba Kokalari


Recital A


Amendment


A.whereas despite the fundamental restrictions on basic freedoms and human rights that remain in Belarus, the EU policy of critical engagement with Belarus has produced some results in the form of signed agreements and increased cooperation; whereas future relations between the EU and Belarus will be defined in the Partnership Priorities to be agreed by both sides; whereas progress in EU-Belarus relations is linked to steps towards improving democratic principles, rule of law and fundamental freedoms;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment27

Nicolae Ştefănuță


Recital A


Amendment


A.whereas despite the fundamental restrictions on basic freedoms and human rights that remain in Belarus, the EU policy of critical engagement with Belarus has produced some results in the form of signed agreements and increased cooperation; whereas future relations between the EU and Belarus will be defined in the Partnership Priorities to be agreed by both sides and should be based on common values on which the EU is built – democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment28

Miriam Lexmann, Lukas Mandl, Michael Gahler, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Vladimír Bilčík, David McAllister


Recital A


Amendment


A.whereas despite the fundamental restrictions on basic freedoms and human rights that remain in Belarus, the EU policy of critical engagement with Belarus has produced some results in the form of signed agreements and increased cooperation in areas such as environment and connectivity, cross-border cooperation and border management; whereas future relations between the EU and Belarus will be defined in the Partnership Priorities to be agreed by both sides;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment29



Recital A


Amendment


A.whereas despite the fundamental restrictions on basic freedoms and human rights that remain in Belarus, the EU policy of critical engagement with Belarus has produced some results in the form of signed agreements and increased cooperation; whereas future relations between the EU and Belarus will be defined in the Partnership Priorities to be agreed by EU and new legitimate, democratically elected authorities in Belarus;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment30

Bernhard Zimniok


Recital A


Amendment


A.whereas despite the fundamental restrictions on basic freedoms and human rights that remain in Belarus, the EU policy of engagement with Belarus produced some effects in the form of signed agreements and increased cooperation; whereas future relations between the EU and Belarus will be defined in the Partnership Priorities to be agreed by both sides;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment31



Recital A a (new)


Amendment

Aa.whereas following the Presidential election on 9 August, which did not comply to the international standards of democratic, free and fair elections, massive, peaceful and orderly protests erupted all over Belarus with the Belarusian people demanding for the end of violence and prosecution against protesters, for the release of political prisoners and detained protesters and for a new presidential election in accordance to the international election standards and with observation of the OSCE ODIHR and other independent observers;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment32



Recital A a (new)


Amendment

Aa.whereas the people of Belarus share common European heritage and culture, while directly neighbouring three EU Member States; whereas situation in Belarus may have direct impact on the EU;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment33



Recital A b (new)


Amendment

Ab.whereas the Belarusian people are in an urgent need of assistance and support from the international community;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment34



Recital A c (new)


Amendment

Ac.whereas the Belarusian protests are of previously unseen scale, they are nationwide, intergenerational, with a visible leadership of women and include persons of different occupations: workers of the state-owned enterprises and TV stations, public servants, diplomats, teachers, law enforcement officers, artists and employees of the national cultural and social institutions; whereas the Belarusian people are assembling into peaceful protests despite losing or being threatened with losing their jobs, receiving inadequate fines, and worse, facing the health- and life-threatening violence and torture;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment35

Petras Auštrevičius, Javier Nart, Hilde Vautmans


Recital A d (new)


Amendment

Ad.whereas the former President of the Republic of Belarus Aliaksandr Lukashenka uses brutal methods to crackdown on the peaceful Belarusian people demanding for their basic citizens’ rights and fundamental freedoms, refuses to enter into a national dialogue with the Belarusian people and does not recognize the National Coordination Council of Belarus, which was initiated by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the President-elect according to the Belarusian people, with the sole purpose of facilitating a peaceful and orderly transition of power through dialogue;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment36

Petras Auštrevičius, Javier Nart, Nathalie Loiseau, Hilde Vautmans


Recital A e (new)


Amendment

Ae.whereas the level of repression by the Belarusian regime significantly increased after the Presidential election leaving at least six Belarusian citizens dead, five due to injuries sustained during the protests and one over refusal to take part in the election fraud, over 7000 Belarusian people, including minors, were unlawfully detained, tortured and ill-treated, hundreds were injured, including children, at least 100 people remain in detention with approximately 60 individuals facing criminal charges, and the fate and whereabouts of at least eight people remain unknown;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment37



Recital A f (new)


Amendment

Af.whereas testimonies of the Belarusian protesters about the violence, torture and abuse they were subjected to during unlawful detention include reports of endless beatings, acts of rape, degrading treatment, inhumane detention conditions in overcrowded cells with no access to drinking water, meals, sanitary facilities and medical assistance; whereas after the release many people were hospitalized, some taken into the intensive care, with such injuries as broken limbs, cracked skulls, damaged eyesight and hearing, some of which together with incurred psychological traumas will have a life-long effects, including infertility;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment38



Recital A g (new)


Amendment

Ag.whereas medics were prevented from providing medical assistance to injured protesters and where exposed to brutal behaviour and violence when caring for the wounded;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment39

Petras Auštrevičius, Javier Nart, Hilde Vautmans


Recital A h (new)


Amendment

Ah.whereas the President-elect Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was intimidated and forced to leave Belarus two days after the Presidential election, as well as other civic and political activists and leaders of workers who due to the threats for their or their family members’ safety left Belarus;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment40



Recital A i (new)


Amendment

Ai.whereas the Belarusian regime seeks to intimidate and to disperse the National Coordination Council of Belarus by targeting its members and launching a criminal case against them; whereas so far two members of the National Coordination Council of Belarus, Siarhei Dyleuski and Volha Kovalkova, received a sentence of 10 days in prison each under charges of ‘staging an unauthorized event’;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment41



Recital A j (new)


Amendment

Aj.whereas the situation in Belarus requires an urgent international investigation on human rights violations against peaceful protesters and the use of excessive power by the Belarusian regime;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment42



Recital A k (new)


Amendment

Ak.whereas the leadership of the EU Member States and its institutions condemned the disproportionate and unacceptable violence displayed by the state authorities against peaceful protesters and decided to impose sanctions against individuals responsible for violence, repression and the falsification of election results;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment43



Recital A l (new)


Amendment

Al.whereas the lifting of the EU sanctions to Belarus in 2016 was done prematurely, not because Belarus fulfilled all conditions, but rather with a hope that it will continue on improving environment for political and civic participation, implementing the human rights and fundamental freedoms, and after the removal of sanctions there was no proper monitoring of expected improvements;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment44



Recital A m (new)


Amendment

Am.whereas on August 14 the Belarusian regime denied the entrance to Belarus for two Members of European Parliament, Robert Biedroń, chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Belarus, and Petras Auštrevičius, the European Parliament’s standing rapporteur on Belarus, traveling to Belarus upon invitation of the Belarusian civil society;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment45



Recital B


Amendment

B.whereas the OSCE ODIHR International Election Observation Mission noted an overall disregard for the fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression during the 2019 parliamentary elections, which took place after a limited amount of campaigning and within a restrictive environment that did not provide for a meaningful or competitive political contest overall;

B.whereas none of either the parliamentary or presidential elections held in Belarus from 1994 to date have been free and fair, but despite these harsh undemocratic conditions the people of Belarus clearly voted for a change, after more than two decades of oppression; whereas recent presidential elections were neither free nor fair and even more than the previous ones were marred with disregard for the fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression and took place after a limited amount of campaigning and within an extremely restrictive environment that did not provide for a meaningful or competitive political contest overall;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment46



Recital B


Amendment

B.whereas the OSCE ODIHR International Election Observation Mission noted an overall disregard for the fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression during the 2019 parliamentary elections, which took place after a limited amount of campaigning and within a restrictive environment that did not provide for a meaningful or competitive political contest overall;

B.whereas the OSCE ODIHR International Election Observation Mission noted an overall disregard for the fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression during the 2019 parliamentary elections, which took place after a limited space for election campaigning, and a restrictive environment and repressions that did not provide for a meaningful or competitive political contest overall;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment47

Miriam Lexmann, Lukas Mandl, Michael Gahler, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Vladimír Bilčík, David McAllister, Paulo Rangel


Recital B a (new)


Amendment

Ba.whereas, despite the 2016 EU Council's decision to lift restrictive measures against 170 individuals and three companies in light of steps taken by Belarus to improve EU-Belarus relations, no progress has been achieved in areas of democratic governance and human rights, with increasing administrative, financial and physical repressions against the democratic opposition, civil society organisations, journalists and bloggers, and even ordinary people;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment48




Recital B a (new)


Amendment

Ba.whereas the Belarusian Central Electoral Commission denied registration as candidates in the 2020 Presidential elections to regime-critical politicians, who had reportedly collected more than 100,000 signatures, as prescribed by the national legislation, underlining the disproportionate and unreasonable barriers to candidacy, contrary to OSCE commitments and other international standards;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment49




Recital C


Amendment

C.whereas the 2020 presidential elections have thus far followed the same pattern as the parliamentary elections;

deleted

Or. {EN}en

Amendment50



Recital C


Amendment


deleted

Or. {EN}en

Amendment51



Recital C


Amendment


C.whereas the 2020 presidential elections have thus far followed the same pattern as the parliamentary elections; whereby there were many candidates, but a restrictive and arbitrary registration process prevented most of them from participating, including the arrest of the main presidential contender Viktar Babaryka and of Siarhei Tsikhanouski, the husband of another key candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and a denied registration by the Central Election Commission to a key opposition candidate Valery Tsapkala over insufficient number of valid ballot access signatures with no possibility to appeal for reassessment of the rejected signatures;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment52



Recital C


Amendment


C.whereas the 2020 presidential elections have thus far followed similar pattern as previous elections; whereas after publication of falsified results, Belarusian people immediately organised peaceful protests, which were suppressed by brutal force, which resulted in thousands of protestors being arrested, tortured, wounded, and some even killed; whereas the United Nations human rights investigators alarmed on 01/09 that they had received reports of hundreds of cases of torture, beatings and mistreatment of anti-government protesters by police in Belarus and urged the authorities to stop any such abuse;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment53

Arba Kokalari


Recital C


Amendment


C.whereas the 2020 presidential elections followed the same pattern as the parliamentary elections and did not meet democratic standards; whereas presidential candidates and demonstrators have been arbitrarily arrested and detained, with alarming cases of violent physical abuses and torture;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment54

Miriam Lexmann, Lukas Mandl, Michael Gahler, Vladimír Bilčík, David McAllister


Recital C


Amendment


C.whereas the 2020 presidential elections have not only followed the same pattern as the parliamentary elections, but demonstrated even more regime-orchestrated repressions than in previous years;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment55

David McAllister


Recital C


Amendment


C.whereas the 2020 presidential elections have thus far followed a worse pattern as the parliamentary elections;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment56

Urmas Paet


Recital C


Amendment


C.whereas the 2020 presidential elections were fraudulent and the EU has refused to accept the result of the election;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment57

Fabio Massimo Castaldo


Recital C


Amendment


C.whereas the 2020 presidential elections have followed the same pattern as the parliamentary elections;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment58



Recital C a (new)


Amendment

Ca.whereas no new political party has been registered in Belarus since 2000 despite repeated attempts, due to burdensome registration process and wide discretionary powers of the Ministry of Justice to reject applications on formalistic grounds, thereby limiting the right to freedom of association; whereas participants in the activities of unregistered organizations are still being persecuted, only criminal liability has been replaced by administrative fines since the entry into force of new legislation in July 2019;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment59

Arba Kokalari


Recital C a (new)


Amendment

Ca.whereas Belarus' Central Election Commission on 14 July 2020 announced that Viktar Babaryka and Valery Tsapkala had been denied registration as presidential candidates, despite having collected sufficient number of signatures; whereas such exclusions of candidates limited the possibility for the Belarusian people to choose their candidates;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment60




Recital C a (new)


Amendment

Ca.whereas the government of Belarus failed to issue a timely invitation to OSCE/ODIHR for the observation of the 9 August presidential elections, leading to the absence of independent international observers during these elections;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment61

Emmanuel Maurel


Recital C a (new)


Amendment

Ca.whereas OSCE observers were not invited and could not, therefore, observe the presidential election, although they have done so since 2001;

Or. {FR}fr

Amendment62



Recital C b (new)


Amendment

Cb.whereas the presidential campaign in Belarus took place against the background of continuous repression, which reached another level of violence after announcement of the official and fraudulent election results; whereas reports suggest of 703 cases of reprisals against civilians in Belarus (out of which 127 are women), including physical violence, kidnapping, and threats of the removal of children, as of 1 July 2020, and a total sum of received fines reached the amount of EUR73,748 and is increasing; whereas criminal proceedings were initiated against 33 people, including against bloggers, presidential candidates and their headquarters; whereas at least 420 people were arrested across Belarus on 14-15 July 2020 during the protests against the decision of the Central Election Commission not to register Viktar Babaryka and Valery Tsapkala as official presidential candidates;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment63




Recital C b (new)


Amendment

Cb.whereas the "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections" report of further measures that disadvantaged opposition candidates, such as restricting locations where election activities can lawfully take place, detaining members of candidates’ campaign teams, and blocking nearly all opposition nominees to Precinct Election Commissions (PECs), leading to 1.1% of the total number of elected nominees from opposition parties and 96.7% from pro-government parties;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment64

Emmanuel Maurel


Recital C b (new)


Amendment

Cb.whereas individuals, including Svetlana Alexievitch, have been summoned for questioning and members of the opposition’s coordination council have been arrested;

Or. {FR}fr

Amendment65




Recital C c (new)


Amendment

Cc.whereas the human rights situation in Belarus continued to deteriorate during the election campaign, with growing numbers of arbitrary detentions and fines, including for participating in peaceful assemblies; whereas NGOs and observers report of reprisals against regime opponents, election observers, journalists, bloggers, civil society activists, and human rights defenders, including through physical violence, abductions, administrative fines, threats of losing custody of a child, criminal proceedings, as well as physical and psychological torture;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment66



Recital C c (new)


Amendment

Cc.whereas pre-election arrests were related to the series protest movements, namely weekly protests against a battery factory in Brest, the Youth Bloc rally in Minsk against the decision to hold the annual Victory Day parade on 9 May in the context of COVID-19, numerous gatherings in protest against the arrests of presidential hopefuls Viktar Babaryka and Siarhei Tsikhanouski and against the Central Election Commission’s decision not to register Viktar Babaryka and Valery Tsapkala as official presidential candidates;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment67

Emmanuel Maurel


Recital C c (new)


Amendment

Cc.whereas hundreds of people were arrested during the opposition protests and detained in appalling conditions;

Or. {FR}fr

Amendment68



Recital C d (new)


Amendment

Cd.whereas abductions of people on the streets by unknown people without identification marks, as well as physical violence and torture against detainees and abductees, as well as massive and systematic threats of the removal of children from mothers who are targeted by the state, have become a common practice in the last months; whereas Belarusian opposition leader and political prisoner Paval Sieviaryniec cut his wrists in a protest against torture and inhumane detention conditions;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment69




Recital C d (new)


Amendment

Cd.whereas Belarus has seen unprecedented protests calling for free and fair new elections, following the presidential elections of 9 August and the announcement of a falsified result, claiming victory for the incumbent president; whereas the protests led to a violent crackdown and thousands of arrests, coupled with reports of inhumane conditions and treatment in places of detention;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment70




Recital C e (new)


Amendment

Ce.whereas the environment for the work of human rights defenders has continuously deteriorated and these are systematically subjected to intimidation, harassment and restrictions to fundamental freedoms; whereas the widespread impunity of law enforcement officers contributes to even further human rights violations and retaliations against human rights defenders; whereas human rights organisations are systematically denied registration, and membership of non-registered groups and receiving foreign funds is criminalised; whereas human rights lawyers are disbarred for defending detained civil and political activists, who cannot rely on receiving a fair trial;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment71



Recital C e (new)


Amendment

Ce.whereas according to Belarusian human rights organizations there are over 40 persons detained for political reasons in Belarus; whereas among imprisoned Belarusian opposition members is Mikola Statkevich, a democratic contender in 2010 Presidential elections, who was a prisoner of conscience from 2011 until 2017; whereas Belarusian human rights organisations declared Siarhei Tsikhanouski a prisoner of conscience, as well as other imprisoned persons in his case: Yauhen Raznichenka, Dzmitry Furmanau, Viarhili Ushak, Aliaksandr Aranovich, Vasil Babrouski, Artsiom Sakau, and Uladzimir Navumik;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment72



Recital C f (new)


Amendment

Cf.whereas there was almost no representation of the democratic political parties, civil society organizations, and independent civic initiatives on the participation and observation in the electoral commissions;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment73



Recital C g (new)


Amendment

Cg.whereas due to a lack of timely invitation from Belarusian authorities, the OSCE was not able to send an election observation mission to Belarus to observe 2020 Presidential election;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment74



Recital C h (new)


Amendment

Ch.whereas due to restrictions imposed by the Central Election Commission amid the coronavirus pandemic, the local election observers were prevented from fully executing their duties during the all phases of voting: the early voting, voting on Election Day, and home voting; whereas the early voting was used by the Belarusian regime to inflate the voter turnout by several times, moreover, numerous cases of forced voting of certain categories of voters were documented, for example, of military personnel, public servants, employees of state-owned enterprises and citizens living in the public housing; whereas on the Election Day the local election observers were prevented from monitoring the counting of ballots, and the numbers of voters and the election results announced by the election commission significantly differed from their observations;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment75



Recital C i (new)


Amendment

Ci.whereas in 2016, the EU lifted the restrictive measures against 170 individuals and four companies in Belarus, which were enacted due to post-2010 Presidential election crackdowns, and currently applies an embargo on arms and equipment that could be used for internal repression, and an asset freeze and travel ban against four persons suspected of involvement in disappearances of two opposition politicians, one businessman and one journalist in 1999 and in 2000;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment76



Recital D


Amendment

D.whereas the Belarusian authorities denied that COVID-19 had spread in the country, thereby wasting precious time that could have been used to prepare and protect the country’s population and in particular its medical staff, did not cancel mass events, and instead engaged in the intimidation of journalists and ordinary people who dared to contradict the official government narrative;

D.whereas the Belarusian authorities denied that COVID-19 had spread in the country, thereby wasting precious time that could have been used to prepare and protect the country’s population and in particular its medical staff, did not cancel mass events, notably the military parade on 9 May with thousands of participants and the annual community work day attended by a quarter of Belarusian population, and instead engaged in the intimidation of journalists and ordinary people who dared to contradict the official government narrative, as a result Belarus has one of Europe's highest per capita COVID-19 infection rates and is a health threat to the region;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment77




Recital D


Amendment


D.whereas the Belarusian authorities denied that COVID-19 had spread in the country, thereby wasting precious time that could have been used to prepare and protect the country’s population and in particular its medical staff, did not cancel mass events, and instead engaged in the intimidation of journalists and ordinary people who dared to contradict the official government narrative; whereas the government and the President of Belarus failed to provide facts about and react timely to the pandemic, and were instead actively spreading false information that jeopardized the health of its citizens;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment78

Norbert Neuser, Tonino Picula, Robert Biedroń


Recital D


Amendment


D.whereas the Belarusian authorities denied that COVID-19 had spread in the country, thereby wasting precious time that could have been used to prepare and protect the country’s population and in particular its medical staff, did not cancel mass events, and instead engaged in the intimidation of journalists and ordinary people who shared crucial information about the pandemic and necessary precautionary measures, thereby demonstrating people's societal engagement and the vitality of the Belarusian civil society;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment79

Manu Pineda


Recital D


Amendment


D.whereas the Belarusian authorities denied that COVID-19 had spread in the country, thereby wasting precious time that could have been used to prepare and protect the country’s population and in particular its medical staff;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment80



Recital D


Amendment


D.whereas the Belarusian authorities denied that COVID-19 had spread in the country, thereby wasting precious time that could have been used to prepare and protect the country’s population and in particular its medical staff, did not cancel mass events, and instead engaged in the intimidation of journalists and bloggers, the democratic opposition, civil society organisations and ordinary people who dared to contradict the official government narrative;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment81

Miriam Lexmann, Lukas Mandl, Michael Gahler, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Vladimír Bilčík, David McAllister, Paulo Rangel


Recital D a (new)


Amendment

Da.whereas the EU stood in solidarity with the people of Belarus from the on-set of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing financial and material support through bilateral and regional programmes;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment82



Recital E


Amendment

E.whereas press freedom in Belarus has significantly deteriorated since 2015, the few independent journalists or media outlets that are able to operate in the country are subject to systematic harassment and punitive measures, such as arrests or initiation of criminal investigations, and the number of prosecutions for statements on the internet has increased;

E.whereas there are no independent Belarusian news agencies registered in Belarus, and press freedom in Belarus has significantly deteriorated since 2015; whereas the few independent journalists, bloggers, photographers or media outlets that are able to operate in the country and who denounce human rights violations are subject to systematic harassment and punitive measures, such as arrests or initiation of criminal investigations, including on charges of illegal production and distribution of information, extremism, discrediting and insulting the president or hooliganism and the number of prosecutions for statements on the Internet has increased; whereas in 2000 and in 2016, two human rights journalists were killed following their active reporting on human rights violations and criticism of repressive policies of the authoritarian government of Belarus;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment83

Juozas Olekas


Recital E


Amendment


E.whereas press freedom in Belarus has continuously deteriorated since 2015, and the situation got even worse after the latest presidential election in August 2020, the few independent journalists or media outlets that are able to operate in the country are subject to systematic harassment and punitive measures, such as arrests or initiation of criminal investigations, and the number of prosecutions for statements on the internet has increased;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment84




Recital E


Amendment


E.whereas there are no independent news agencies registered in Belarus, and press freedom in Belarus has significantly deteriorated since 2015; whereas the few independent journalists or media outlets that are able to operate in the country are subject to systematic harassment and punitive measures, such as arrests or initiation of criminal investigations, and the number of prosecutions for statements on the internet has increased;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment85

Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Łukasz Kohut


Recital E


Amendment


E.whereas press freedom in Belarus has significantly deteriorated in the recent years as confirmed annually by the World Press Freedom Index, whereas the few independent journalists or media outlets that are able to operate in the country are subject to systematic harassment and punitive measures, such as arrests or initiation of criminal investigations, and the number of prosecutions for statements on the internet has increased;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment86



Recital E


Amendment


E.whereas press freedom in Belarus has significantly deteriorated since 2015, the few independent journalists, media outlets and bloggers that are able to operate in the country are subject to systematic harassment and punitive measures, such as arrests or initiation of criminal investigations, and the number of prosecutions for statements on the internet has increased;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment87



Recital E a (new)


Amendment

Ea.whereas in the last months, 8 media resources received warnings from the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus, mainly for violating the Media Legislation and “disseminating information that could harm the national interests of Belarus”; whereas the human rights defenders and journalists who observed or covered the demonstrations in relation to the Presidential election, and those who have criticised the state’s environmental policy or commented on COVID-19 have also been targeted and may face criminal charges, at least 6 journalists received administrative arrests of 77 days, others were subjected to paying fines; whereas among arrested journalists are those working for such international news organizations as BBC, DW, Reuters and the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and all of the human rights defenders targeted are from different regions of Belarus, particularly Brest, Mogilev, Rechytsa, Svetlogorsk, Bobruysk, and six of the human rights defenders detained are from the leading human rights organization in Belarus, the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment88



Recital E a (new)


Amendment

Ea.whereas human rights and democracy in Belarus have been deliberately and brutally restricted by the Belarusian authorities over the past decades, while representatives of the opposition, civil society and media in the country have been regularly arrested or otherwise persecuted;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment89




Recital E a (new)


Amendment

Ea.whereas human rights defenders and journalists who observed or covered demonstrations, and those who have criticised the state’s environmental policy or commented on COVID-19 pandemic in Belarus have also been targeted by the authorities and may face criminal charges;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment90



Recital E a (new)


Amendment

Ea.whereas there has been notable increase in engagement with the Belarusian civil society, including through EU-supported activities and intensifying people-to-people contact;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment91

Emmanuel Maurel


Recital E a (new)


Amendment

Ea.whereas pressure has been placed on Belarusian and foreign journalists to prevent them from covering the opposition’s actions;

Or. {FR}fr

Amendment92



Recital E b (new)


Amendment

Eb.whereas after the Presidential election the Belarusian regime further tightened its grip on media freedom and people’s right to access and share information by blocking the Internet access, disrupting the printing of newspapers, arresting local and foreign correspondents and exposing them to torture and inhumane treatment, journalists were specifically targeted and several got injured while covering the Belarusian regime authorised crackdown on peaceful protesters; whereas the state-owned TV stations do not cover ongoing protests and atrocities committed by the Lukashenka’s regime and are being used for spreading propaganda, attacking and discrediting Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, political activists and peaceful protesters, after resignation of journalists at the state owned TV stations, they were replaced by propaganda experts from Russia;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment93



Recital E b (new)


Amendment

Eb.whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has displayed the resilience, strong resolve and unprecedented self-organisation of the Belarusian society, particularly in light of the authorities' lethargic response, and even denials of the pandemic and its impact;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment94



Recital E b (new)


Amendment

Eb.whereas the Belarusian regime seeks to intimidate and to disperse the Coordination Council of Belarus by targeting its members and launching a criminal case against them;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment95



Recital E c (new)


Amendment

Ec.whereas independent journalists cooperating with and working for foreign media are prosecuted under article 22.9 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which makes it illegal to receive financial rewards from media that are not dully registered and accredited in Belarus; whereas Belsat TV channel, which is officially registered in Poland, does not receive registration in Belarus and its activities are under constant pressure and attacks, including brutal detentions of its journalists and fines imposed to its contributors totalling USD 101,791 as of 18 June 2020;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment96



Recital E d (new)


Amendment

Ed.whereas Belsat TV channel, which is officially registered in Poland, so far has not been registered in Belarus, while its activities are under constant pressure and attacks, including brutal detentions of its journalists and fines imposed to its contributors amounting to USD 101,791 as of 18 June 2020;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment97



Recital E d (new)


Amendment

Ed.whereas Belarusian regime is repressing art activists, bloggers and other cultural workers, who use their work to criticize the government and to support the political opposition; whereas as of 29 June 2020, 73 cases of repressed people who are somehow involved in art activity were recorded, with 21 person being imprisoned and 20 criminal cases initiated; whereas Belarusian human rights organizations have recognized 9 art activists as political prisoners;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment98



Recital E e (new)


Amendment

Ee.whereas the environment for the work of human rights defenders has continuously deteriorated and these are systematically subjected to intimidation and harassment, including judicial harassment, restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly, and movement, as well as arbitrary detention and conviction, ill-treatment and defamation, searches of offices and personal belongings, and confiscations of equipment; whereas between late April and early May 2020, eight human rights defenders in Belarus have been arbitrarily detained and subjected to judicial harassment for participating in peaceful assemblies and criticizing government policies, ahead of the Presidential election;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment99



Recital E f (new)


Amendment

Ef.whereas the widespread impunity of law enforcement officers contributes to even further human rights violations and retaliations against human rights defenders; whereas human rights organizations along with other civil society organizations are systematically denied registration and legislative amendments passed in 2011 made it illegal for these organizations to hold funds abroad and established criminal liability for receiving foreign grants or donations; whereas these regulations were further tightened in May, 2020 with a new Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus "On foreign aid";

Or. {EN}en

Amendment100



Recital E g (new)


Amendment

Eg.whereas human rights lawyers are disbarred for defending detained civil and political activists and denouncing their conditions of detention or the violation of fair trial guarantees, and the human rights community is routinely stigmatized as being politically motivated and accused of receiving foreign funding in order to carry out sedition, criticize the government or destabilize the existing political system;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment101



Recital E h (new)


Amendment

Eh.whereas since 2014, 18,000 Belarusian minors were sentenced to unproportionally long terms of imprisonment, between 8 and 15 years, for non-violent drug-related offences under the Article 328 of the Criminal Code; during detention and imprisonment Belarusian minors face numerous violations of their rights, including physical violence and torture, and are exposed to dangerous for health working conditions;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment102



Recital E i (new)


Amendment

Ei.whereas the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus of July 2020 notes no major improvements in the legal and regulatory protection of human rights in Belarus and, in addition to above highlighted problems, brings attention to continuous application of the death penalty, prevalent discrimination of vulnerable groups, including women, persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities and LGBTQI persons, continuous practice of forced labour, torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment of detained persons, and discrimination against speakers of Belarusian language;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment103



Recital E j (new)


Amendment

Ej.whereas the EU has allocated EUR 60 million to Belarus for mitigation of the immediate and direct effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and, in reaction to post-election situation in Belarus, additional EUR 53 million to support the Belarusian people were added; whereas Belarus is exploring the possibility to seek macro-financial assistance from the EU;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment104

Manu Pineda


Recital F


Amendment

F.whereas Belarus has been subject to unprecedented pressure from Russia to deepen their integration in the context of the Union State, to the detriment of the sovereignty of Belarus, resulting in an ongoing standoff over oil imports from Russia;

deleted

Or. {EN}en

Amendment105

David McAllister


Recital F


Amendment


F.whereas Belarus has been subject to unprecedented pressure from Russia to deepen their integration in the context of the Union State, to the detriment of the sovereignty of Belarus, resulting inter alia in an ongoing standoff over oil and gas imports from Russia;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment106

Juozas Olekas


Recital F


Amendment


F.whereas Belarus has been subject to unprecedented pressure from Russia to deepen their integration in the context of the Union State, to the detriment of the sovereignty of Belarus, resulting in an ongoing standoff over oil and gas imports from Russia;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment107



Recital F


Amendment


F.whereas Belarus has been subject to unprecedented pressure from Russia to deepen their integration in the context of the Union State, to the detriment of the sovereignty of Belarus, resulting in an ongoing standoff over oil and gas imports from Russia;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment108

Petras Auštrevičius, Javier Nart, Nathalie Loiseau, Malik Azmani


Recital F a (new)


Amendment

Fa.whereas Belarus in partnership with Russian ROSATOM corporation is building the Astravyets Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in unjustified location just 20 kilometres way from the EU’s external border and 45 kilometres away from the capital city of Lithuania; whereas the construction of the Astravyets NPP has been followed by the lack of respect for international standards for nuclear safety, serious safety violations and major incidents, including continuous construction works despite the Covid-19 outbreak at the site; whereas the first reactor of the Astravyets NPP was planned to launch before Presidential election in August 2020 and before full implementation of the recommendations of the stress tests carried out by the EU nuclear safety authorities;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment109



Recital F a (new)


Amendment

Fa.whereas 26 years in power or Lukashenka had been marked by policies of undermining sovereignty and independence of the country and weakening of Belarusian identity, heritage and culture;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment110

Manu Pineda


Recital F a (new)


Amendment

Fa.whereas states are sovereign to choose their own economic, political and social model, as well as their bilateral and multilateral agreements;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment111

Manu Pineda


Recital G


Amendment

G.whereas from a security point of view, Belarus is closely linked to and dependent on Russia and is engaging in actions posing a threat to the EU Member States such as the Zapad 2017 joint military exercises;

deleted

Or. {EN}en

Amendment112

Juozas Olekas


Recital G


Amendment


G.whereas from a security point of view, Belarus is closely linked to and dependent on Russia and is engaging in actions posing a threat to the EU Member States such as the Zapad 2017 joint military exercises, planned Zapad 2021 joint military exercise and construction of unsafe nuclear installations;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment113

Fabio Massimo Castaldo


Recital G


Amendment


G.whereas from a security point of view, Belarus’ membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) means the country is closely linked to and dependent on Russia and is engaging in actions posing a threat to the EU Member States such as the Zapad 2017 joint military exercises;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment114

Emmanuel Maurel


Recital G


Amendment


G.whereas from a security point of view, Belarus is closely linked to and dependent on Russia and is engaging in joint actions such as the Zapad 2017 military exercises;

Or. {FR}fr

Amendment115



Recital G


Amendment


G.whereas from a security point of view, Belarus is closely linked to and dependent on Russia and is engaging in actions posing a threat to the EU Member States such as the non-transparent Zapad 2017 joint military exercises;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment116

Sandra Kalniete, Michael Gahler, Željana Zovko, Andrius Kubilius, Andrzej Halicki, Miriam Lexmann, Isabel Wiseler-Lima, Vladimír Bilčík, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Paulo Rangel, Radosław Sikorski, David McAllister, Tomasz Frankowski, Janina Ochojska


Recital G a (new)


Amendment

Ga.whereas the presidential election campaign was marred by widespread bureaucratic interference favouring the incumbent, intimidation and repression towards other candidates, their families and supporters, denial of registration of candidates who collected sufficient number of signatures, multiple arrests, attempts to silence independent journalists, bloggers and take down dissident websites on the internet;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment117

Arba Kokalari


Recital G a (new)


Amendment

Ga.whereas in 2016 the EU lifted most sanctions against Belarus, with the exception of an arms embargo and sanctions against four individuals; whereas the European Council in 2020 agreed to impose sanctions against a substantial number of individuals responsible for violence, repression and the falsification of election results;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment118

Attila Ara-Kovács


Recital G a (new)


Amendment

Ga.whereas it is unacceptable if a Member State does not condemn unambiguously the election falsification, violence and repression and reckons Lukashenko's Belarus as partner state, since the situation in Belarus requires to adopt a firm and principled position and agree on common EU action;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment119

Emmanuel Maurel


Recital G a (new)


Amendment

Ga.whereas the construction of Great Stone industrial park makes clear China’s intention to include Belarus in its ‘new silk roads’;

Or. {FR}fr

Amendment120



Recital G a (new)


Amendment

Ga.whereas after eruption of massive protests Aliaksandr Lukashenka reached out to Russia for assistance to ensure survival of the Belarusian regime;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment121



Recital G b (new)


Amendment

Gb.whereas Lukashenka seeks to salvage its image and public support by creating propagandist narratives about the external threats to Belarus, the EU and its Member states are being used for such disinformation, for example, a narrative about possible intervention by foreign Western actors is being spread and for this false reason the Belarusian regime is intensifying activities and movement of Belarusian military forces in Grodno region by the border with Poland and Lithuania, which poses a direct threat to the EU and its Member States;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment122

Sandra Kalniete, Andrius Kubilius, Tomasz Frankowski, Radosław Sikorski, Andrzej Halicki, Vladimír Bilčík, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Michael Gahler, Paulo Rangel, Isabel Wiseler-Lima


Recital G b (new)


Amendment

Gb.whereas independent platforms established by civil society organisations of Belarus (such as Golos -Belarus2020.org) conducted independent exit polls and analysed protocols of more than 200 precinct electoral commissions, which released genuine results, that clearly point to the fact that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya received an absolute majority of votes (in the range of 71.1% to 97.6%);

Or. {EN}en

Amendment123



Recital G c (new)


Amendment

Gc.whereas the Central Election Committee announced Alexander Lukashenko as the winner of the election allegedly receiving 80.10% and his main opponent Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya 10.12%, irregularities during the polling days were reported constantly, people were often denied their right to vote, protocols from polling precincts were falsified;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment124



Recital G c (new)


Amendment

Gc.whereas Belarus does not recognize the independence of the breakaway republic of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, de jure annexation of Crimea and invoked the neutrality pledge in its Constitution to refuse siding with Russia in the war in Eastern Ukraine;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment125

Petras Auštrevičius, Javier Nart, Malik Azmani, Hilde Vautmans


Recital G d (new)


Amendment

Gd.whereas difficult economic situation, which is to worsen due to the nationwide workers’ strikes and refusal by the Belarusian regime to enter into a national dialogue with the Belarusian people, indicate that the economic model of Belarus has reached its limits and the country could be entering into a period of transition in which the EU can play a key balancing role;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment126



Recital G d (new)


Amendment

Gd.whereas the Belarusian authorities did not comply with minimum international standards for a credible, transparent, free and fair presidential election process;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment127



Recital G e (new)


Amendment

Ge.Condemns criminal behaviour of the Lukashenka’s regime and calls for an immediate end of violence and inhumane treatment of the Belarusian people, for an immediate and unconditional release of all detainees and political prisoners, for a thorough investigation of committed atrocities and bringing culpable to justice, more importantly, for recognizing and entering into a dialogue with the National Coordination Council of Belarus;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment128



Recital G e (new)


Amendment

Ge.whereas peaceful protests expressing a desire for democratic change and freedom started already on the night of Sunday 9 August in Minsk and many other cities around the country, the scale of protests is unprecedented in the history of Belarus going into the hundreds of thousands;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment129



Recital G f (new)


Amendment

Gf.whereas the authorities responded to peaceful protests with disproportionate brute force, heavy use of tear gas, batons, flash grenades and water cannons, several thousand protestors were detained, there have been reports of torture, rape, missing persons, several people have been found dead so far;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment130



Recital G f (new)


Amendment

Gf.whereas the European Parliament does not recognise the 9 August Presidential election results and calls for the organization of a new election, but this time democratic, free and fair with the observation of the OSCE ODIHR and other international observers;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment131

Sandra Kalniete, Andrius Kubilius, Tomasz Frankowski, Radosław Sikorski, Andrzej Halicki, David McAllister, Vladimír Bilčík, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Michael Gahler, Paulo Rangel, Janina Ochojska, Isabel Wiseler-Lima


Recital G g (new)


Amendment

Gg.whereas Lukashenko and his regime have approved these criminal actions and pogroms by OMON of innocent people and whereas more than 7000 Belarusians were detained, more than 400 hospitalised, 5 confirmed dead and dozens still missing, while further arrests and harassment of activists, including journalists, are still taking place all over Belarus;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment132



Recital G g (new)


Amendment

Gg.whereas the European Parliament expresses support to the Belarusian people’s claims for free and fair elections and ability to freely make decisions about their country’s future;

Or. {EN}en

Amendment133

Sandra Kalniete, Michael Gahler, Željana Zovko, Andrius Kubilius, Andrzej Halicki, Miriam Lexmann, Isabel Wiseler-Lima, Vladimír Bilčík, Antonio López-Istúriz White, Paulo Rangel, Radosław Sikorsk

· web viewwhereas following the presidential election on 9 august, which did not comply to the...

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