Stefan Füle:Democratic forces cannot operate without harassment from Belarusan authorities

Speaking at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty headquarters in Prague on May 9, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy has lashed out at a defiant Belarus.

Füle addressed a variety of issues related to the enlargement aspirations of the six Eastern Partnership countries. 

He reserved his strongest rhetoric for the two countries that have traditionally been at opposite ends of the enlargement spectrum, RFE/RL reports.

Füle said Belarus, which remains under EU sanctions following a flawed presidential vote in 2010 and a massive crackdown on opponents, has seen civil liberties strangled by autocratic leader Aliaksandr Lukashenka.

"In Belarus, it is not only political prisoners; it is the level of the democracy, the level of the rule of law in Belarus, it is the ] absence of free and fair elections for years in Belarus," Füle said. "There is actually no space for democratic forces to operate without harassment by Belarusan authorities. This is the very substance of the Lukashenka regime that makes the member states pursue this policy of critical engagement."

Füle’s comments came as Lukashenka, speaking at a Victory Day commemoration in Minsk, said the West resented Belarus for refusing to serve as a “banana republic dancing to the tune of overseas democracies.”

Füle said that EU ties with Minsk need not preclude a strong Russian-Belarusan relationship.