Greatest treachery by Europe

According to Swedish media, the European Union has quietly but radically changed its political line towards Minsk.

The European Union has given up the policy of sanctions and turned to the policy of a dialogue, the western observers write. The dictator, who until recently was banned entry to the EU countries, is welcomed in Italy, he is invited for a summit in Prague, Radio Svaboda reports.

As Swedish «Kristianstadsbladet», writes, Brussels loosened his hard position towards the Belarusian regime last autumn. A decision on visa ban reprieve for high ranking Belarusian officials was taken in response to release of political prisoners by Minsk. Many European officials thought this gesture would lead to a democratic process in Belarus, to a dialogue and development. Sweden was among those few states that voted against.

Last week what can be called “greatest treachery the Belarusian opposition and the dissidents by Europe” happened, Kristianstadsbladet writes. The foreign minister of the Czech Republic, holding EU presidency, personally invited Lukashenka to Prague, and the Italian foreign minister said the Belarusian ruler would be accepted in Rome and Vatican.

According to the author of the article, unfortunately, Swedish media don’t write much about Belarus, the country that is so close to Sweden. Nevertheless, the journalist reminds about two stories published in the local media.

One of the stories, a presentation of books by Svyatlana Aleksievich, was reported by Goteborgs-Posten. The famous writer, living outside Belarus, whose books are not published in the country, was invited for a Minsk Book Fair by a Moscow publishing house in February.

A huge number of her readers attended come to meet Aleksievich at the fair, and the Russian publishing house was said neither the company nor the writer with her books are welcomed at such events in Belarus any more.

Or the other story, mentioned by the Swedish editions. It is a tragedy happened with human rights activist from Salihorsk Yana Palyakova, who committed suicide because of an unfair sentence.

The author of the article in Kristianstadsbladet concludes he’d like to ask the EU and Vatican how they are going to have a dialogue with the Belarusian regime.

Kristianstadsbladet is a liberal Swedish newspaper founded in 1865.