Several Belarusian politicians welcome Ukraine’s political reform :: Charter'97 :: News

Several Belarusian politicians hailed a bill passed by Ukraine’s Supreme Rada which transfers many of the president’s powers to the legislature, a move that appears to have ended the bitter standoff sparked by November’s controversial presidential runoff.

“Ukraine is on the right track,” Sergei Kalyakin, leader of the Belarusian Party of Communists (BPC), said when reached for comment by BelaPAN.

The politician welcomed the measure as the only possible solution to the crisis, noting that it was the only positive result of the standoff as well. “I’ve always been a convinced advocate of a parliamentary republic and I believe that Belarus will inevitably adopt this form of government. This may happen very soon,” he stressed.

Nikolai Statkevich, leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party “Narodnaya Hramada,” predicted that the reform would make Ukraine a more democratic but less stable country.

The politician expressed misgivings that a new Ukrainian president might face temptation to rule with a heavy hand until the new legislation is enacted. “I hope that Ukrainian political elites will agree to a compromise and will not let this happen,” he said.

The political situation in Belarus may start developing according to “the Ukrainian scenario” only after the Belarusian people realizes that it is democratic changes that would improve the country’s living standards, Mr. Statkevich stressed. He suggested that opposition forces should work to promote European values so that the public “has political motivation to change the current system of government.”