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Skriven 2006-06-19 23:34:20 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0606194) for Mon, 2006 Jun 19
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Message to the Congress of the United States
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 19, 2006

Message to the Congress of the United States



TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

Consistent with subsection 204(b) of the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b)(IEEPA), and section 301 of the National
Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1631 (NEA), I hereby report that I have issued
an Executive Order (the "order") blocking the property of persons in
connection with the situation in Belarus. In that order, I declared a
national emergency with respect to the policies and actions of certain
individuals in Belarus, to address the unusual and extraordinary threat to
the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the
actions and circumstances involving Belarus, as described below. This
action follows the issuance of Proclamation 8015 of May 12, 2006,
"Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Persons Responsible
for Policies or Actions That Threaten the Transition to Democracy in
Belarus," in which I determined that it is in the interest of the United
States to suspend the entry into the United States of members of the
government of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and others who formulate, implement,
participate in, or benefit from policies or actions, including electoral
fraud, human rights abuses, and corruption, that undermine or injure
democratic institutions or impede the transition to democracy in Belarus.

The United States, the European Union, and other allies and partners around
the world have repeatedly expressed support for the democratic aspirations
of the Belarusian people and condemned the Belarusian government's human
rights abuses, assaults on democracy, and corruption. The Belarusian
authorities have resorted to intense repression in an attempt to preserve
their power, including the disappearances of four regime critics in 1999
and 2000, which the authorities have failed to investigate seriously
despite credible information linking top government officials to these
acts.

The undemocratic 2006 presidential election was only the latest example of
the Belarusian government's disregard for the rights of its own citizens.
Hundreds of civic and opposition activists were arrested and many beaten
both before and after the vote for exercising their rights. The authorities
forcibly dispersed peaceful post-election demonstrations. There is simply
no place in a Europe whole and free for a regime of this kind.

The order also takes an important step in the fight against public
corruption, which threatens important United States interests globally,
including ensuring security and stability, the rule of law and core
democratic values, advancing prosperity, and creating a level playing field
for lawful business activities. As noted in Proclamation 8015, the
persistent acts of corruption by Belarusian government officials in the
performance of public functions has played a significant role in
frustrating the Belarusian people's aspirations for democracy. This order
authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to block the assets of
senior-level officials of the Government of Belarus, their family members,
or those closely linked to such officials engaged in such corruption.

Thus, pursuant to IEEPA and the NEA, I have determined that these actions
and circumstances constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the
national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I have
issued the order to deal with this threat.

The order blocks the property and interests in property in the United
States, or in the possession or control of United States persons, of the
persons listed in the Annex to the order, as well as of any person
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the
Secretary of State:

-- to be responsible for, or to have participated in, actions or policies
that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Belarus;

-- to be responsible for, or to have participated in, human rights abuses
related to political repression in Belarus;

-- to be a senior-level official, a family member of such official, or a
person closely linked to such an official who is responsible for or has
engaged in public corruption related to Belarus.

The order also authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation
with the Secretary of State, to designate for such blocking any person
determined to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial,
material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of,
the activities listed above or any person listed in or designated pursuant
to the order. I further authorized the Secretary of the Treasury, after
consultation with the Secretary of State, to designate for such blocking
any person determined to be owned or controlled by, or acting or purporting
to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person listed in or
designated pursuant to the order. The Secretary of the Treasury, after
consultation with the Secretary of State, is also authorized to remove any
persons from the Annex to the order as circumstances warrant.

I delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the
Secretary of State, the authority to take such actions, including the
promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to
the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of
the order. All executive agencies are directed to take all appropriate
measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order.

The order, a copy of which is enclosed, was effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern
daylight time on June 19, 2006.

GEORGE W. BUSH

THE WHITE HOUSE,

June 19, 2006.

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