European Parliament publishes full text of critical resolution on Belarus
The European Parliament (EP) has published the full text of its critical resolution on Belarus that was adopted on March 29.
In the resolution, the EP said that it continued to strongly "condemn
the deteriorating situation as regards human rights and fundamental
freedoms, combined with the lack of deep democratic and economic reforms
in Belarus, and will continue to oppose the repression of the regime’s
opponents."
The EP deplored the execution of Dzmitry Kanavalaw
and Uladzislaw Kavalyow, who were sentenced to death in last year's
subway bombing trial, which it said happened "despite continuous
domestic and international protests" and called on the Belarusian
authorities to give the young men's bodies to the families for burial
and immediately introduce a moratorium on capital punishment.
In
addition, the document deplored the Belarusian authorities' move to bar
several opponents and human rights activists from traveling abroad and
expressed "sympathy" to the people hit by the travel ban, as well as
urged Minsk to "put an end to such practices that violate the
fundamental freedoms of Belarus citizens."
The EP welcomed the
EU foreign ministers' February 28 and March 23 decisions to add more
individuals to the list of Belarusians subject to an entry ban and asset
freeze and blacklist certain economic entities "supporting the regime."
The resolution called on the EU Council to "take stock of the
latest developments in EU-Belarus diplomatic relations and of the
further deterioration in the situation regarding human rights and basic
freedoms in the country and, on this basis, to adopt a decision
concerning further restrictive measures, including targeted economic
sanctions."
The resolution demanded the unconditional and
immediate release of the political prisoners and warned that no progress
would be made in the dialogue between Belarus and the EU until their
release.
The resolution stressed that the decision to withdraw
all the ambassadors of the EU member states from Belarus "proves that
the Belarusian authorities’ attempts to divide the European Union over
decisions on sanctions have failed."
The EP also condemned the
offensive rhetoric of Alyaksandr Lukashenka toward the German foreign
minister and urged the national ice hockey federations of the EU member
states and other democracies to suggest that the 2014 world hockey
championship be moved from Belarus until the authorities release the
political prisoners and start respecting human rights.
The EP
stressed that the European Union and Belarus should have "good
neighbourly relations and that these should be strongly supported by EU
close engagement with civil society and the democratic opposition in
Belarus and its support for the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian
people."
The resolution urged the European Commission to
support, with financial and political means, the efforts of Belarusian
civil society, independent media and non-governmental organizations in
Belarus to promote democracy.
The EP had been originally
scheduled to vote on the resolution on March 15, but the vote was
postponed with a view to giving the Belarusian authorities more time for
possible steps to improve the situation.
The following day
after the EP made the decision to postpone the vote, it became known
that Messrs. Kanavalaw and Kavalyow had been executed after being denied
clemency by Mr. Lukashenka, MEP Marek Migalski of Poland said ahead of
the vote on Thursday. He said that he had warned that the Belarusian
authorities would see the postponement of the vote as weakness on the
part of the EP, noting that he had regretfully been right.
Another
Polish MEP, EP Vice President Jacek Protasiewicz, who heads the
Parliament's delegation for relations with Belarus, argued that the
decision was not a sign of any weakness. Moreover, it is not known for
sure when the two young men were executed, he said.
The EP was
waiting for positive signals from Minsk, and it has to act resolutely
now in the absence of any, Mr. Protasiewicz stressed.