Whether Belarus would be included into Eastern Programme

He pointed that the “basic freedoms of the citizens of that country are not being respected by the authorities”. The comment was made following reception of copies of over 50 000 signatures of Belarusian citizens expressing their support for the petition calling for the protection of the right to freedom of confession in Belarus. The signatures were brought to the European Parliament by the opposition politicians Aleksandr Milinkevich and Pavel Severinets.

Mr. Milinkevich commented his meeting with the head of the EU Parliament:

“In particular, Mr. Pottering said that he was very impressed. He was aware that people were taking risks when signing the petition. Indeed, there were fines, arrests and persecutions. Undoubtedly it also involved courage and firm civic position. He also said very kind words: “We always felt solidarity with you. However it is more important that people inside Belarus feel solidarity while fighting for freedom”.

Mr. Pottering strongly urged the Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners, like Aleksandr Kozulin. Deputy of the House of Representatives of Belarus, Aleksandr Svirid could not agree with the approach:

“I believe there are no political prisoners here. I repeat it once again: there are no political prisoners. When someone is being a hooligan, then he should be held responsible for that, just like in any country, regardless of the fact that his own political views a different from the political views of the Belarusian authorities”.

The statement of Mr. Pottering also recalls that Belarusian authorities were not respecting the right of the Belarusian citizens for religious freedom. A Priest Aleksandr Shramko commented:

“The main issue is that a principle of freedom of confession is being violated. It is obvious in various ways. For instance, opportunities for spreading one’s believes are being restricted. There are fewer opportunities for praying, meaning that if fewer than 20 persons gather, it would be impossible to form a church community and to register it officially. Also there is a requirement for having special relevant premises for these purposes. Previously it was possible to gather in private apartments, not any more. Now there is a requirement to have cult premises, which could only be built by a legal person. It turns out into a vicious circle”.

Recalling his meetings at the European Parliament, Aleksandr Milinkevich says that regardless of the fact that Belarus is not an EU Member-State, the EU would look into the received petitions “very closely”. At the same time, there were positive moments in the course of discussions, a politician says:

“We also had very important discussions related to the Draft of the EU special programme for Eastern Partnership. The EU has a Cooperation programme for Mediterranean region. Currently Poles and Swedes proposed to implement similar programme for Ukraine, Azerbaidjan, Georgia, and under certain conditions for Belarus. It would be a very good chance for Belarus. A special Programme would be much better than the Neighbourhood Programme. It would provide with better opportunities. However certain conditions need to be fulfilled”.

In the communique disseminated by the Press Service of the EU Parliament after the meeting with Mr. Milinkevich it is underlined that “only fulfilling these basic democratic conditions will allow the European Union to normalise its relationship with Belarus”.

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