German Embassy: Officials are welcome to receive visas, and human rights activists not!

The German Embassy denied visas to Belarusian human rights activists. Human rights activists and journalists were to be present at the round table discussion with Bundestag deputies where Belarusian “parliamentary election” 2008 is to be discussed.

It has been reported by Uladzimir Labkovich, one of the four persons who had been denied a visa.

He noted that earlier human rights activists many times received Schengen multiple vises, as they have good contacts with human rights activists from Germany. This time Belarusian representatives have been denied visas without explanation.

The first deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front party Vintsuk Vyachorka has commented the denial to issue Schengen visas to pro-democracy activists:

“Massive denial to issue visas to Belarusian human rights and public activists by the German Embassy in Minsk is perceived as a sinister symbol, as at the same time visa sanctions against those responsible for establishing an anti-democratic regime in Belarus are lifted,” Vintsuk Vyachorka said.

Some of those who have been denied visas are members of the Belarusian Popular Front party, which enduringly stands on the position of Belarus’ independence. So those who defend human rights and independence do not have a right to visit Germany to express their views. And Lukashenka and his helpers who are responsible for the threat to Belarusian independence are warmly welcome in Europe.

The decision to put a visa barrier for human rights activists contradicts the earlier declarations about Europe which is maximally open for Belarusian citizens and leaders of civil society”.

Vintsuk Vyachorka has expressed a hope that the decision not to issue visas has a temporarily character: “Still I hope that this strange decision, to put it mildly, is subjective, that it is not a part of some new value-laden policy of Germany and would be overruled”.