Anatol Lyabedzka: “Return of special guest status in PACE to Belarus is erroneous”

The leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka states that return of Belarus to PACE is impossible without concrete steps on democratization in the country.

On May 26 the Political Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted to return special guest status to the National Assembly of Belarus, BelaPAN informs.

As said by Anatol Lyabedzka, the return of the special guest status to Belarus “would cause conservation of the situation, and not changes in the country”.

The deputy chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front party Vintsuk Vyachorka has informed that the United Democratic Forces plan to send a letter which the vision of the situation with return of the special guest status by the coalition. In particular, the democratic forces are set to remind about their proposals in which “reinstatement of the special guest status is connected with concrete steps on democratization of the country”.

The special guest status in the PACE was received by the Belarusian parliament in 1993, however after the referendum on Constitution held in November 1996 which expanded powers of the president, this status was withdrawn.

The Belarusian “chamber of representatives” hopes for return of the special guest status in June 2009 at the regular session of the PACE. Andrea Rigoni, Rapporteur on Belarus, said about possibility of such a decision on March 17 at the session of the political commission at which a draft version of the report on situation in the country was heard.