Tribunal for Lukashenka: The European Parliament Debates the Situation in Belarus

MEPs have called for Lukashenka's crimes to be brought before the International Criminal Court immediately.

A year ago, Belarus was one of the world's top media topics. But after the cessation of the active phase of the protests, international media attention has waned. Nevertheless, the European Parliament is trying not to lose sight of developments in the country. Tuesday, October 5, MEPs devoted almost an hour and a half to the plenary session in Strasbourg to debate "The situation in Belarus after a year of protests and their violent suppression," reports DW.

The European Parliament threatens Lukashenka with a tribunal.

"A year after the rigged elections, the situation in Belarus remains deplorable. The Lukashenka regime continues systematic attempts to stifle all the remaining independent voices in the country - the independent press, human rights activists and civil society," opened the debate the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson. There are already more than 700 political prisoners in Belarus, and the number is only growing, she recalls.

"We all know what crimes against the people of Belarus Lukashenka commits and for what international crimes he is responsible," said Lithuanian Andrius Kubilius, speaking on behalf of the European People's Party (EPP). He proposed "to immediately submit Lukashenka's crimes to the International Criminal Court based on the Chicago Convention (International Civil Aviation. - Ed.), the Montreal Convention (the Unification of the Rules for International Carriage by Air. - Ed.) and the Convention against Torture (The UN - Ed.).

A number of MPs from other factions supported the idea. In particular, a Social Democrat from Portugal, Isabel Santos said the sanctions aimed at changing the political behaviour only, but, in her opinion, Aliaksandr Lukashenka must answer before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the "committed crimes".

"We must initiate a trial against Lukashenka and charge him with torturing his own citizens. "There is evidence for this," added Greens MEP Sergey Lagodinsky from Germany.

"We need a serious debate in the UN Security Council and, finally, an investigation by the International Criminal Court," supported his colleagues Polish MEP from the faction of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Witold Waszczykowski.

"Belarus is not on the migration path" from the Middle East to the EU

If no opponents of the prosecution of Lukashenka by the international court were found among the MEPs during the debate in Strasbourg, the topic of migrants on the EU borders with Belarus was the most acute.

The European Commissioner Ylva Johansson informs that this year more than 6,000 "irregular" migrants have been registered at the borders between Belarus and the EU, whereas, last year, about 150 migrants were registered.

According to her, these people are mainly immigrants from Iraq, Congo, Cameroon and Syria. "Belarus is not on any of the known migration routes from these countries. Belarus is not a country under migration pressure. People seek asylum (fleeing - Ed.) from Belarus, not in Belarus," Johansson stressed.

Johansson said that the arrival of migrants was organised by the state-run tour operator Centrkurort. They are accommodated in state hotels, and then people "in unmarked uniforms" take the migrants in minibuses to the borders of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Johansson called such actions of Belarusian authorities "illegal state-sponsored transportation of migrants across the border." Although she says, the number of arriving migrants has "dropped dramatically" in recent weeks.

Lithuanian MEP Petras Auštrevičius, the liberal political group Renew Europe, called the use of migrants by the Lukashenka regime a "large-scale hybrid attack" against Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. Witold Waszczykowski thanked Ylva Johansson "for attempts to solve the problem and support of Polish achievements". Danish Peter Kufud of the right-wing populist Identity and Democracy praised Warsaw, Vilnius and Riga for defending their borders when the EU was "blind to its obligations".

A very different stance was taken by the left-wing factions. Pedro Marques, a Social Democrat from Portugal, believes Lukashenka has "completely overstepped the limits of humanity, using people as weapons". But "this by no means justifies the way these migrants are treated at our borders," said Marques, recalling the death of several migrants in the border zone between Belarus and Poland.

Spanish "left" Manu Pineda states it's hard for him to speak about the human rights situation in Belarus when "the borders of Poland, Latvia and Lithuania are a mess". He accused the three countries of gross violation of international law.

The hottest dispute was between Polish MPs from different political parties. Social democrat Robert Bedroń believes Lukashenka has managed to destabilize the eastern border of the EU, thus, making the government in Warsaw a "useful idiot". Bedroń cites the deaths of migrants on the border as his argument. It triggered criticism from MEPs from Poland's ruling Law and Justice party. Joachim Brudziński says it is the representatives of the left-wing forces that are commonly referred to as "useful idiots". In response, Waszczykowski urged the hall to ignore the "lies of the Polish opposition". Andrzej Halicki of the EPP urged the two to stop quarrelling. According to him, whoever rules in Poland or Lithuania, it is important to keep the border closed.

Oblivion is the main weapon of dictators

However, not all MPs were talking about the border and migrants. The Green party's German Terry Reintke noticed that the main weapon of the dictators was not tear gas or machine guns, but oblivion: "Such people as Lukashenka want us to lose interest. They want us to forget, turn away and not look at developments in Belarus anymore. The MEP recalled the 11-year imprisonment of Maria Kolesnikova. "If this madness is not stopped, she (Kolesnikova. - Ed.) will be 50 years old when her prison term is over," Reintke said and promised that the European Parliament will not forget about Belarus.

"The agenda is moving forward, but unfortunately for the (political. - Ed.) prisoners in Belarus, the horror remains real... We cannot turn our backs on it," supported her Romanian Dragoș Tudorache of the Renew Europe group.