Stefanovich: Stuzhynskaya did not consult with human rights defenders

Valyantsin Stefanovich, the deputy chairman of Viasna human rights centre, does not understand why it was proposed to remove university rectors from the visa ban list.

He said no one consulted with human rights defenders on that issue.

“I do not support the statement by office head Volha Stuzhynskaya. We have an absolutely different position. I think it’s too early to speak about lifting any sanctions. As human rights activists, we will insist that the minimum condition for Belarus-EU contacts is the release of political prisoners. I do not understand the initiative of removing university rectors from the blacklist, because a lot of students were expelled from universities on politically motivated grounds. It has been continuing for the last few years. I do not even talk about absence of academic freedom and student self-governance.

It’s strange to me that Volha Stuzhynskaya spoke on behalf of certain NGOs, though, as far as I know, there were no consultations with human rights organizations in Belarus,” Valyantsin Stefanovich said in an interview for eurobelarus.info.