EU should not tolerate human rights abuses in Belarus-Czech HC

Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who is on a visit to Minsk, today invited Belarus on behalf of the Czech EU presidency to attend the forthcoming summit in Prague that is to focus on the EU Eastern Partnership project.

The EU summit on Eastern Partnership is to be held on May 7 and Belarus is one of the six former Soviet Union states that are expected to join the project though the regime of Belarussin President Alexander Lukashenko has been criticised for human rights violations and suppression of the opposition for a long time.

Representatives of Czech non-governmental organisations promoting human rights addressed by CTK today agreed that if the European Union decided to include Belarus in the project, it must also discuss human rights with its representatives.

Sabatova said the EU "should not only talk with the Belarussian democratic opposition but also with representatives of the state."

Sabatova said the invitation of Belarus to join the Eastern Partnership project was a "logical and correct" culmination of the European policy towards Belarus.

"The European Union should make it clear to the Belarussian representatives that a country keeping political opponents in prison and restricting the freedom of speech cannot be its partner," Czech Amnesty International head Eva Dobrovolna told CTK.

She pointed out that though a political dialogue between the EU and Belarus had recently been established, "EU representatives should not avoid discussing human rights violations with Belarussian authorities."

Radka Bzonkova, from the People in Need organisation, said it was necessary to point out that Belarus is not a democratic country.

People in Need has invited representatives of the Belarussian opposition to Prague for the time of the EU summit on Eastern Partnership.

The organisation wants Schwarzenberg to receive them.

Apart from Belarus, the project will include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

In exchange for reforms, the EU offers these countries a chance of coming closer with the EU that plans to invest some 600 million euros in the project by 2013.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz