Copenhagen (Denmark), Tuesday, June 14, representatives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on Belarus met to find a common approach to promote greater respect for human rights and rule of law in Belarus. The Working Group has developed a resolution on the situation in the country to be presented for voting at the annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to begin on July 6 in Belgrade.
The meeting in Copenhagen was attended by parliamentarians from Germany (Uta Zapf, chairman of the group), Italy (Claudio D’Amico), Poland (Pawel Poncyljiz) and Lithuania (Vilija Aleknaite-Abramikiene), reported in the OSCE.
MPs once again called upon the Belarusian authorities to immediately release all prisoners and opponents of the President for demonstrating after the December elections.
«By continually imprisoning opposition figures and refusing to grant visas to international experts and human rights advocates, Minsk has shown time and again it prefers autocratic isolation to democratic dialogue. We look forward to the authorities changing course,» said during a meeting Uta Zapf.
A resolution, according to the head of the working group, aims to renew dialogue with the Belarusian authorities. The document calls to release political prisoners detained in connection with the December demonstrations, to allow them legal counsel, family visits, and medical care, as well as entry of the independent expert appointed under the Moscow Mechanism. Furthermore MPs urge Minsk to develop a media law in line with the country’s international commitments.
At a meeting of the working group on Belarus parliamentarians also discussed current environmental issues. So, Vilia Aleknayte-Abramikene noted justifiable concern of Belarusians and Lithuanians on the construction of nuclear power plants on the border between the two countries.
«By not waiting for the conclusion of the environmental impact assessment and ignoring its legal obligations to consult with Lithuania on the planned nuclear plant, Belarus is putting the people of the whole region in great danger,» said the representative of Lithuania.
According to Telegraf, members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly have repeatedly criticized the actions of the Belarusian authorities against the protestors after the presidential election in Minsk. 41 people, including five former presidential candidates, have already been condemned on the case on December 19.
