“Rather than killing, rounding up and jailing his political opponents, Lukashenko needs to listen to the voices of the Belarusian people who are calling for freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the freedom to change their government through free and fair elections,” Smith said. “For too long he has squelched these fundamental rights of the people of Belarus. Lukashenko needs to step down and allow a transitional government to manage truly free and fair elections that genuinely represent the will of the Belarusian people.”

   A leading human rights lawmaker, Smith is the author of three laws to advance and promote democracy and human rights in Belarus: H.R. 854, the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004; H.R. 5948, the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006, and; H.R. 515, the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2011.

   Smith’s laws, which served as the forerunners for other major human rights laws known as the Sergei Magnitsky Act and the Global Magnitsky Act (for which Smith was the prime sponsor in the House), impose personal sanctions on Lukashenko and other political leaders in his regime, including visa denials and prohibition on their ability to do any commerce with any U.S. entity. The Smith laws require Belarus to release political prisoners and transition toward democracy before the United States lifts the sanctions on Belarusian officials imposed by the laws.

   Smith also forewarned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to send military or police forces to prop up Lukashenko’s crumbling regime, which Putin has threatened to do.

   “It is up to the Belarusian people to decide their own future and who shall lead their country, not Vladimir Putin,” Smith said.  “Russian interference and intervention will only fail, and in the long run, foster enmity between Belarus and the Russian Federation. Mr. Putin: Don’t create another Ukraine in Belarus.”