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OSCE Parliamentary Assembly expected to call on Belarusian government to release political prisoners

 

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is expected to adopt a resolution on Belarus during its 22nd annual session held in Istanbul, Turkey, from June 29 to July 3, which would call on the Belarusian government to release and exonerate all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally.

The draft resolution, available on the Assembly’s website, calls on the government to allow representatives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to visit political prisoners in Belarus, and suspend restrictions on the freedom of movement of those who have been given a suspended sentence, including Iryna Khalip, Uladzimir Nyaklyayew, Vital Rymashewski, Syarhey Vaznyak, Andrey Dzmitryyew and Alyaksandr Fyaduta.

The draft resolution calls on the government to “suspend the harassment and persecution of civil society, such as representatives of youth organizations and movements, trade unions, independent media and human rights defenders,” to consider “substantive legislative reforms to bring the country in line with European standards, including correcting the imbalance of power in favor of the executive, vested in the country’s 1996 Constitution, with a particular focus on reducing the dependence of the judiciary on the executive branches,” to take the necessary steps to make full use of the European Union’s European Dialogue on Modernization with Belarus, and to abolish Article 193.1 of the Criminal Code, which penalizes actions on behalf of an unregistered organization.

The draft resolution urges the government to “immediately withdraw all issued death sentences, and to work to abolish the death penalty.”

The draft resolution “recommends that the International Ice Hockey Federation ensure that Article 8 of its Statute, guaranteeing neutrality in political, racial, gender and religious matters is thoroughly respected.”

Attending the session will be a Belarusian parliamentary delegation including Viktar Huminski, deputy chairperson of the House of Representatives; Uladzimir Syanko, chairperson of the International Affairs and National Security Committee of the Council of the Republic; and Valyantsina Lyavonenka, a member of the House of Representatives’ International Affairs Committee.

Anatol Rubinaw, chairperson of the Council of the Republic, suggested on Friday that the delegation should counteract anti-Belarusian sentiments and the spread of the "Belarus issue," and provide true information about the country.

"Our stance is that one should not use measures of economic pressure and visa restrictions," Mr. Rubinaw stressed.

He said that the West’s sanctions against Belarus were a barrier to a normal dialogue and mutually beneficial relations. "This approach has proved to be helpless," he said. "The most sensible politicians in Western countries have already understood this and are coming to the conclusion that positives steps are necessary to strengthen constructive contacts. For our part, we are ready for cooperation." //BelaPAN