On August 9, 2020, the rigged presidential election in Belarus caused an uproar, leading to peaceful protests by the Belarusian people and the emergence of a broad democratic movement against incumbent Alexander Lukashenko. However, since that day, these protests by tens of thousands of people have been met with massive repression by the Belarusian regime authorities.
On the anniversary of the rigged elections in Belarus, August 9, we, the chairmen of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the parliaments Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland We stand in solidarity with all Belarusians on the frontline of the struggle for freedom, self-determination and democracy.
We stand in solidarity with the more than 33,000 people who have been detained by the police for their activities and the thousands of victims who have been brutalized, harassed, tortured, exiled, intimidated and murdered by the regime. Despite the inhuman and unlawful treatment by the alleged authorities, Belarusians continue to fight for freedom. We, for our part, reiterate our unalterable demands: the immediate cessation of all violence, the release of all political prisoners, and the holding of new, free and fair presidential elections in Belarus in cooperation with the international community and institutions.
In the year since the fraudulent elections, the Lukashenko regime has targeted civil society groups, human rights organizations, think tanks, journalistic, environmental, social, charitable, educational, youth and business organizations, and independent media to stifle the desire for democracy in Belarusian civil society. Moreover, in recent months, the regime has used migration as a weapon to exert political pressure on the European Union and its member states. This is an ongoing hybrid attack by the Alexander Lukashenko regime on the integrity of the EU's external border.
Therefore, on the anniversary of August 9, we pledge and call on the international community to increase support for Belarusian civil society, media and human rights organizations, maintain the policy of non-recognition of Alexander Lukashenko's regime, and uphold the demand to hold new presidential elections in Belarus under international observation and in accordance with the OSCE Moscow mechanism.
We call on the EU Council and our partners to extend individual and sectoral sanctions against the Belarusian regime, including the Belarusian state-owned airline Belavia, as long. as it is involved in the organized arming of irregular migrants; the EU should extend sectoral financial sanctions to prevent Belavia's access to financial instruments (leasing) of EU-based financial entities.
We also call on the EU institutions to prepare a new sanctions regime targeting all parties involved in state-sponsored exploitation of irregular migration flows. Furthermore, restrictive measures against migrant smugglers who violate human rights should be considered and swiftly implemented. Finally, we insist on the need to hold accountable all those who participated in organizing and facilitating irregular migration to the EU.
We reaffirm our support for the sovereignty and independence of Belarus and call on the international community to adopt an effective deterrent mechanism against attempts by the Russian Federation or other nations to sign illegal agreements with Lukashenko that violate Belarus' sovereignty and vital national interests. Furthermore, we call for an international investigation into the crimes committed by the Lukashenko regime and for the full and prompt implementation of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism and UN Human Rights Council Resolution 46/20 (March 2021).
