OSCE PA delegation met with Belarusian opposition

A special working group on Belarus of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has arrived in Minsk on December 21.

The OSCE PA delegation has met and held 20hour talks with representatives of the Belarusian opposition, Radio Svaboda reports.

The delegation is led by Swedish MP Cecilia Wigström. Besides her, the delegation consists of representatives of Polish and Italy.

The opposition was represented by former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin, leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka, head of the Communist Party “Fair World” Syarhei Kalyakin, “Young Front” leader Zmitser Dashkevich, head of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada) Anatol Lyaukovich, co-head of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Vital Rymasheuski, and deputy head of the “For Freedom” movement Yury Hubarevich.

As representatives of the Belarusian opposition think, the meeting was “constructive, with elements of a critical dialogue”. The discussion was started by an opposition’s offer to sum up the results of the strategy the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has been following since 2000.

In 2000, the OSCE PA recognized the “national assembly” of Belarus a legitimate parliament. The aim was encouraging – teach democracy to the Belarusian MPs. But as the oppositionists emphasized at the meeting, the most repressive legislation was adopted by the “national assembly” after the “teaching”. So, the opposition representatives say, the OSCE PA should edit the strategy.

The delegation from Vienna is to visit the Ministry of Justice, the “house of representatives”, and the Central Election Commission.

A visit to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a final press conference are scheduled for first half of December 22.