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Recommendations on how the EU should shape its policy towards Belarus were approved by 602 members of the European Parliament, 44 disagreed and abstained, the EP office in Lithuania reported.
Parliament expressed strong support for the decision of the EU and its states to stop considering Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus, condemning his “proclamation as president of Belarus during an illegal secret inauguration ceremony on September 23, 2020 “and called for his” peaceful resignation. “
At the same time, MEPs note that Sviatlana Cichanouskaya, a former candidate in the presidential elections that left Lithuania, “is the elected president in the eyes of the Belarusian people” and condemned Russia’s decision to include her on the cross-border wanted list .
The EP called on the Belarusian authorities to unconditionally release all political prisoners, to enter into a dialogue with the Coordination Council, which the EP claims to be the legitimate representative of the Belarusian people, and to agree to hold free and fair elections without delay, after a “transparent and inclusive constitutional reform process”.
The EU Council is asked to apply the agreed sanctions against those who contributed to the repression and electoral fraud, including Mr. Lukashenko. It is also suggested that sanctions be considered for certain sectors that do not harm the country’s population in the long term.
The EP also condemned the demand by the Belarusian authorities to withdraw the Lithuanian and Polish ambassadors and reduce the number of employees in their embassies.
Lawsuits to postpone the start of the Astravo nuclear power plant
Among other calls, the recommendations emphasize that the EU must “take seriously” the problem of the Astrava nuclear power plant and demand that its operation be postponed until all international nuclear safety recommendations have been implemented and the volatile situation in Belarus. MEPs call for “support for European solidarity efforts” to ban the import of nuclear power from Astravo on the EU market.
Among other things, the document proposes support for a democratic Belarusian information center in Brussels and other capitals, the establishment of a mission for Belarus by former heads of state or government to help stop violence, foster political dialogue and free political prisoners.
It also calls for EU funds not to be provided for projects controlled by the Belarusian regime and for the country’s civil society to be supported through non-state channels.
Petras Auštrevičius, Lithuanian MEP, speaker on the topic, stressed that the ongoing struggle of the Belarusian people for the right to free and fair elections to free themselves from the “26-year dictatorship of A. Lukashenko” needs support.
“Their bold and inspiring actions require three simple steps on our part: solidarity, support and sanctions (…) The EU cannot be a passive observer. For many years, we have supported human rights defenders and civil society democracy in Belarus. Now that it is no longer on the margins, when tens of thousands of Belarusians march through the streets demanding democratic change, they should feel the solidarity and support of the EU and its citizens, “said P. Auštrevičius.
For the third consecutive month, Belarus has protested against Lukashenko, who was officially declared the winner of the presidential elections on August 9. The opposition and Western democracies view the elections as rigged, and the West has imposed sanctions on those responsible for electoral manipulation and violence against protesters.
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