Parliamentarians seek to strengthen independent voices in Belarus

Members of Parliament from four countries gathered in Copenhagen today to find a common approach to promote greater respect for human rights and rule of law in Belarus, where opponents of the president remain in prison for demonstrating after the December elections.

“We call on the authorities in Minsk to release all political prisoners at once,” said Uta Zapf (Germany), chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Working Group on Belarus. “By continually imprisoning opposition figures and refusing to grant visas to international experts and human rights advocates, Minsk has shown time and again it prefers autocratic isolation to democratic dialogue. We look forward to the authorities changing course.”

Zapf chaired the meeting in Copenhagen, which included parliamentarians Claudio D’Amico (Italy), Pawel Poncyljuz (Poland) and Vilija Aleknaite Abramikiene (Lithuania).

More than 20 members of the opposition still remain in prison charged with “grossly violating the public order” for demonstrating after the elections. Others are under house arrest, unable to leave the country or have escaped and claimed asylum abroad.

A resolution introduced by Zapf for consideration at the upcoming OSCE PA Annual Session aims to “renew dialogue” with Minsk and calls on Belarus to:

· release political prisoners detained in connection with the December demonstrations,

· allow political prisoners legal counsel, family visits, and medical care,

· allow independent experts appointed under the Moscow Mechanism into the country, and

· to develop a media law in line with the country’s international commitments.

Parliamentarians from the 55 participating OSCE countries will vote on the resolution at the Belgrade Annual Session beginning 6 July. If adopted, it will be included in the Assembly’s Belgrade Declaration, which helps set OSCE policy and shape domestic legislation.

On top of human rights concerns, members discussed environmental issues as well.

“The people of Lithuania and Belarus are right to be worried about the haste with which Minsk is moving forward to build a nuclear power plant on the border between our countries,” Ms. Aleknaite Abramikiene said at the meeting. “By not waiting for the conclusion of the environmental impact assessment and ignoring its legal obligations to consult with Lithuania on the planned nuclear plant, Belarus is putting the people of the whole region in great danger.”