Howard Berman: “I will be the only speaker to speak from our side on this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.…”

“I will be the only speaker to speak from our side on this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. On December 19 of last year, Belarus' President, Alexander Lukashenko, staged a fraudulent election. Immediately afterward, he had the opposition candidates arrested, and this May almost all of them were sentenced to prison. The Lukashenko regime has continued to harass members of opposition political parties, human rights activists, civil society and to suppress Belarusians' access to free press and information. Over the past month, an increasing number of Belarusians have gathered to protest against Lukashenko and the deteriorating economic situation there. The Obama administration has reacted strongly to the fraudulent elections and post-election crack down. On February 2, the U.S. significantly expanded the list of Belarusian officials subject to travel sanctions and to have their assets blocked and restored full U.S. sanctions against Belarus's largest state-owned oil and gas concern. On July 2, Secretary Clinton met with activists from Belarus during her visit to Lithuania for a meeting of the Community of Democracies and repeated her demand that Belarus release political prisoners and embark on the path of democratic reform.…”