EU external relations commissioner meets with opposition leaders

Benita Ferrero-Waldner has a “clear understanding of the situation in Belarus,” Anatol Lyabedzka, leader of the United Civic Party, said in an interview with BelaPAN after meeting with the European Union’s external relations commissioner in Minsk on Monday.

The meeting also was attended by opposition politicians Syarhey Kalyakin, Viktar Karnyayenka, Alyaksandr Kazulin, Stanislaw Shushkevich, and Vintsuk Vyachorka.

The EU commissioner spoke about the steps taken by Minsk toward democratization but stressed that “they are obviously not enough for either recognizing the process as successful or abolishing the targeted sanctions against certain officials,” according to Mr. Lyabedzka.

Ms. Ferrero-Waldner noted that the European Union would not limit its dialogue with Belarus to economic issues, assuring the opposition politicians that democratization would be high on the agenda.

She reportedly promised to push for the involvement of opposition forces in the process of improving Belarus’ electoral regulations. “It is clear for her that pro-democratic forces should be part of dialogue between the authorities and the OSCE ODIHR [Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights],” Mr. Lyabedzka said.

“It is the first time that we hear an EU official acknowledging that there are prisoners of conscience in Belarus and that the topic has not been closed and should be discussed with the Belarusian authorities,” he noted.

Belarus currently has a “favorable situation” for changes and “the EU has powerful tools of influence on the situation,” Mr. Lyabedzka said. “Our goal is political dialogue and free elections and Europe can contribute to this through the formulas ‘loans in exchange for internal political dialogue’ and ‘trade in exchange for free elections,” he said.

The EU should condition economic aid to Belarus on the release of all political prisoners and an end to the persecution of government opponents, he added. //BelaPAN
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