European People’s Party Demands To Unblock Charter’97 And Stop Pressure On Belarusian Media

The largest party in the EU has adopted a resolution on Belarus.

The Congress of one of the largest parties in the EU, the European People’s Party, adopted a resolution on Belarus, which demands to stop repressions against the media and journalists and urges the European Union to reconsider the priorities of the dialogue with Belarus, the BCD press service reports.

The resolution mentions the names of Belarusian journalists under criminal prosecution, the requirement to unblock the independent website Charter97.org, as well as the demand to release Mikhail Zhamchuzhny and other political prisoners.

The resolution was prepared by the Belarusian Christian Democrats together with the Center-Right Coalition.

The adoption of the resolution was commented by BCD Co-Chairman Vital Rymasheuski, who takes part in the Political Assembly, the Congress and the summit of the European People’s Party.

“The openness of the EU to Belarus and the dialogue are extremely important. But of no less importance are the issues which head the agenda. Unfortunately, the Belarusian authorities perceive the openness of the EU as an opportunity to continue repressions with impunity, to destroy independent civil society and the press. Protecting the independent media of Belarus is of paramount importance, and today's resolution is an important step in this direction. The call to revise the priorities of cooperation with Belarus is also important. The Belarusian authorities want only economic support from the EU. But the economy cannot work successfully if there are no fair independent courts in the country. For now, there are no free elections in Belarus – corruption, violence and lawlessness cannot be stopped.

The resolution notes that the priority issues in the dialogue between Belarus and the EU should be the reform of the electoral and law enforcement systems.

Considering the fact that almost all EU leaders are representatives of the EPP, the adopted resolution is very important for determining the EU policy towards our country.

Participation in the Summit of the European People's Party is ahead, where there will be an opportunity to discuss the situation in Belarus with Mrs. Merkel and other EPP leaders.”

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