Europe urged to impose pinpoint economic sanctions against Lukashenka

Belarusians representative offices abroad urge to toughen sanctions against the dictatorship in Belarus.

In connection with some insinuation s concerning lifting sanctions against Belarus, representations of Belarusian political immigration have made a special statement:

“In connection with an attempt of some structures to lobby arbitrary amendments in the black list of persons against whom limiting sanctions in the framework of the official policy of the European Union against the Belarusian dictatorship had been imposed, and in view of the obviously long-felt need to clear up the position of the Belarusian democratic community on this issue, Belarusian civil and political activists abroad state that it is inacceptable to whitewash reputation of the regime’s henchmen, who had been recognized accomplices by the EU as they had been blacklisted.

We resolutely dissociate ourselves from the initiative of the Office for Democratic Belarus headed by Volha Stuzhynskaya, who acts without any dialogue with the Belarusian democratic and civil society abroad. We find the initiative to lift visa sanctions against the persons responsible for ongoing political repressions in Belarus irresponsible and immoral.

The reasoning for lifting visa sanctions against presidents of universities is beneath criticism: these persons appointed by the dictator to their positions, are responsible for facts of excluding students on political grounds, on forcing them to take part in early voting, for direct and indirect prohibitions to take part in social and political activities, for other ways of pressure on students. What kind of reforms Stuzhynskaya wants to discuss with them? The initial condition for contacts with there representatives of the regime is to remove the Belarusian Republican Union of Youth and ideologists from universities, and also to release students from political overseers and overseers from the KGB.

We demand the Office for Democratic Belarus to offer explanations concerning lobbying interests of Vladimir Peftiev (Uladzimir Peftsieu), an arms tycoon.

Reasoning about the criteria of placing on the black list of persons banned from entering the EU does not hold water: it would be right for Stuzhynskaya to ask herself a question about criteria of throwing Belarusian democratic activists into prisons, supported by the funds earned for the regime by V. Peftiev, among others.

We demand to publish the letters sent by the office of V. Stuzhynskaya to the diplomatic missions, as its text directly affect interests of Belarusian political prisoners, our friends and collegues.

We find it necessary to expand the list of persons banned entry to the EU with the persons responsible for repressions against Ales Byalyatski, for tortures and humiliating treatment of presidential candidates in the election of 2010 Andrei Sannikov, Mikalai Statkevich, political and public leaders Zmitser Bandarenka, Zmitser Dashkevich, Eduard Lobau, Syarhei Kavalenka, a businessman Mikalai Autukhovich and other political prisoners.

Among others, the sanctions should affect the administration of Mahilyou prison Nr 4, the penal colony Vitsba-3, the colony Nr 2 in Babrujsk. We demand to blacklist the tycoons who are closely connected with the regime.

We insist on criminal prosecution of high-ranking officials of Lukashenka’s regime, responsible for violations of the UN Convention against Torture, for disappearance of opposition leaders, public activists and journalists. We demand to impose pinpoint economic sanctions against Lukashenka’s regime.

The Civil and political representative office of Belarus in Lithuania (Lithuania, Vilnius)

The Society of Belarusian Culture in Lithuania (Lithuania, Vilnius)

The Belarusian House in Warsaw (Poland, Warsaw)

The Belarusian Tribunal, the Netherlands, the Hague

The Belarusian Centre in Ukraine (Ukraine, Kyiv)

The Office of Belarusian Political Emigration (Belgium, Antwerp)

The Union of Support to Democracy in Belarus (Związek na rzecz Demokracji w Bilorusi), (Poland, Warsaw)

The civil campaign “Free Belarus Now” (Minsk-London)

“We Remember” foundation (Minsk-Washington)

The Coordination Center in Riga for Belarusian civic society, (Latvia, Riga)

“Chernobyl-Belarus” union (Ukraine, Kyiv)