Opposition politician blames Belarusian government for tougher visa rules

 A deputy leader of the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) said that the Belarusian government is to blame for tougher visa rules that several European countries started applying to Belarusians after their accession to the Schengen zone on December 21.

Nine countries, including Belarus’ neighbors Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, joined the passport-free travel zone, introducing costlier and stricter visa formalities for Belarusian applicants.

“Unfortunately, Belarusian citizens are harmed by the authorities that are doing nothing to bring our country closer to the European Union,” Vintsuk Vyachorka, who had led the BPF until the party’s conference earlier this month, said in an interview with BelaPAN.

Mr. Vyachorka said that “natural integration processes” were underway in Europe. “It’s a great shame that Belarus has found itself outside these processes. Moreover, we have been hit even harder than Ukraine, which conducted more active talks with the EU,” the politician noted.

Mr. Vyachorka said that Minsk’s steps to improve relations with the EU would make it easier for Belarusians to obtain a Schengen visa and would even lead to visa-free travel between Belarus and the EU in a more distant future.

He promised that opposition forces would work to talk the EU into securing “a freer movement for Belarusians in Europe.”

“I believe that the EU should use a two-tier policy in relations with Belarus. On the one hand, it means a firm attitude toward the government’s democratic commitments and, on the other hand, this is an openness to the Belarusian people,” Mr. Vyachorka concluded.

The EU has repeatedly said that Schengen visa fees can be reduced for Belarusians if Minsk takes steps toward democracy and human rights respect, and is formally involved in the European Neighborhood Policy.

In particular, the Belarusian government has been urged to meet 12 conditions, which include, among others, free and fair elections, access to the media for the opposition, freedom of association, the supremacy of law, the release of political prisoners, and the abolition of the death penalty.