Rigging of elections results is main problem of Belarusian regime

On October 20, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said at a meeting with journalists he didn’t see any obstacles for development of relations with Europe after lifting European Union’s sanctions on a number of high ranking Belarusian governmental officials. Members of German Bundestag have another opinion.

“I greatly value these steps, which were not easily achieved considering that the EU is made up of 27 states. I think we have good prospects for cooperation with the EU. We can communicate with Europe not through the iron curtain or the Berlin Wall. Europeans did not feel comfortable over these sanctions,” Alyaksandr Lukashenka said yesterday.

«Немецкая волна» asked Markus Meckel, member of the Social Democratic Party in Bundestag, if all obstacles have really been removed for a dialog between Europe and Belarus.

“No, of course, there is still a row of problems that need discussion,” the Bundestag member notes. “We couldn’t but notice that the recent “parliamentary elections” in Belarus were not free and democratic. Observing of concrete proposals of the OSCE on changing the electoral laws is the key problem for the country now.”

According to the politician, the European Union should in this case, like in the case with China, conduct a dialog with human rights institutions of Belarus and support them. This also will be useful for Belarus, Markus Meckel thinks. “Foreign investors (Belarus needs investments and modernisation) may come only if institutions of legal state strengthen in the country.”

“Both the European Union and Belarus are interested in development of relations. We should make steps forward to gain our common aims. But I understand well that the process of rapprochement will take a long time,” Markus Meckel said.

The politician answered a question how the opposition should behave in future: “in the first turn, the opposition should act in concert. It should establish contacts with common people. Europe should support the opposition in its actions.”

The politician thinks that the European Union should also promote development of freedom of media and free access to information, first of all, about the situation in Belarus. “Besides, we must give t understand that those who stand for democracy and human rights in Belarus are our friends and partners.