US Senate passes Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act

The US Senate on Monday approved a bill extending the Belarus Democracy Act for 2007 and 2008, a representative of the US embassy in Minsk told BelaPAN.

The draft legislation passed the House of Representatives last week. It now has to be signed by US President George W. Bush.

Named the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006, the bill extends the Belarus Democracy Act

The bill authorizes $27.5 million in funding for democracy-building activities in Belarus, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported last week.

The Act requires reports concerning the sale or delivery of weapons or weapons-related technologies from Belarus to rogue states and reports on the Belarusian leader's personal wealth and assets as well as those of other Belarusian top officials.

The Act bans the US government from providing loans, credit guarantees, financing or other similar finical assistance for Belarus, excluding humanitarian assistance, until Belarusian authorities conduct a thorough inquiry into the 1999-2000 disappearances of Aleksandr Lukashenko's opponents, release political prisoners and drop politically motivated charges against all opposition representatives, as well as end the persecution of the independent media and pro-democracy organizations