MEPs: We Support the Brave People of Belarus

The posturing of Lukashenka and his cliques will not affect the position of Brussels.

Head of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee David McAllister, head of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Belarus Robert Biedron and European Parliament rapporteur for Belarus Petras Aushtrevičius issued a statement after the Lukashenka’s regime left the Eastern Partnership program.

The Charter97.org website provides the text of the statement:

- By suspending its participation in the Eastern Partnership, recalling its ambassador to the EU, and inviting the head of the EU delegation to also return to Brussels for consultations, the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka has once again demonstrated irrational and isolationist behavior, which we condemn and reject. We also condemn his intention to suspend the readmission agreement with the EU, which is an act of retaliation in response to the recently expanded EU sanctions and paves the way for facilitating illegal migration.

The EU sanctions represent a legitimate response to the continuing deterioration of the human rights situation in Belarus and, in particular, to the outrageous hijacking of an EU civilian plane and the subsequent arrest of prominent journalist Raman Pratasevich and his companion Sofia Sapega.

And vice versa, the sanctions of the Belarusian regime are dictated exclusively by Lukashenka's obstinacy, aimed at continuing the usurpation of power at any cost; they will damage the fundamental interests of the Belarusian state and its citizens.

Despite our differences, the Eastern Partnership is conceived as a joint, overarching initiative that fosters prosperity and stability, and builds bridges between peoples across Europe.

The use of migrants — as we have already seen last week — in an attempt to destabilize Lithuania and Poland, two EU member states that have set an example by condemning human rights violations and granting asylum to many Belarusian oppositionists, is particularly despicable.

Today we declare clearly and publicly: despite the posturing of Lukashenka and his cliques, we support the brave people of Belarus in their quest for democracy, dignity, and freedom.