Irina Sukhiy: "Eco House" welcomes the action of MEPs

The European Parliament

The fact that the MEPs have supported the Belarusan environmental activists is the natural, logical course of events.

- I welcome this MEPs’ action. It's been supposed to happen as it is the natural course of events, commented on chairman of the Public Association "Eco House" Irina Sukhiy to the EuroBelarus Information Service.

Members of the European Parliament Rebecca Harms and Werner Schulz responded appropriately by writing an open letter to the Foreign Ministry of Lithuania and through informing the European Commission. As a result, Tatiana Novikava has already left for Germany.

Let us recall that on September 26, civil society activists, coordinator of public campaign "Building NPP in Astravets is a crime!" Mikalaj Ulasevich and coordinator of the Belarusan anti-nuclear campaign, Tatsiana Novikava were declared by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry persona non grata and were not allowed the entry to the country, where they were going to participate in the conference "Lithuania – Belarus: Nuclear Neighborhood”. Their visas were canceled. In the decision of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry issued to the activists while crossing the border, was said they threatened the safety of one or more EU member states, the national security of Lithuania.

- When it happened, I had a sense of the absurdity of the situation, says Irina Sukhiy. Certain forces in Lithuania want to build the nuclear power plant, and that’s why our antinuclear activists were not allowed to enter Lithuania, all the more so it was before the Lithuanian referendum on the construction of the nuclear power plant. However, it is strange that Lithuania decided for the other EU countries, adding two Belarusan environmentalists to the ban list. For example, Germany has taken the road of a gradual closure of its nuclear power plants. Different attitudes to the nuclear power of the EU countries, in my view, should not have any effect on whether an antinuclear activist may or may not enter the country.

Earlier, the "Eco House" protested, considering the decision of the Republic of Lithuania to acknowledge the Belarusan environmental activists persona non grata as a politically motivated action and asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania to reconsider the decision, and asking the Lithuanian Parliament to take appropriate measures for the review.

The Belorusan National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum has also issued the Statement in which it expressed deep concern at the announcement of the Belarusan civil society activists persona non grata by the Lithuanian authorities and indicated that the real ground for these restrictions had been the social activity of the antinuclear movement representatives.

- I am very pleased that the appeal of the National Platform wasn’t lost and the voice of Belarusan NGOs has been heard in Europe at the highest level, confessed Irina Sukhiy.