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Belarusian Popular Front blames government for little Eastern Partnership progress

 

The Belarusian government has failed to use in full the potential of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership program for drawing the country closer to European living standards and democracy, the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF)’s Soym (Council) said in a statement adopted on Saturday.

Belarus has made the least progress in forging closer ties with the EU among all countries participating in the Eastern Partnership, said the statement. “The blame for that lies with the government of Belarus, which, through the policy of self-isolation, authoritarian rule, the persecution of civil society and the conscious movement away from European standards, has stripped the Belarusian people of the advantages and opportunities that come with the full-scale participation in the Eastern Partnership program,” said the opposition party’s leadership.

The BPF said that it was cautiously optimistic about Minsk’s declared readiness to start visa facilitation talks with the EU. “At the same time, we note once again that cooperation on the matter should not remove the issue of the release of political prisoners from the agenda, without the settlement of which the normalization of the social and political situation in Belarus is impossible,” said the statement.

The BPF called on the Belarusian authorities to release all political prisoners, which it said will allow the country to take advantage of all opportunities offered by the Eastern Partnership and the European Dialogue for Modernization with Belarus.

Integration with the EU is vital to the creation of a democratic, free and affluent Belarus as a sovereign state, according to the statement. “We urge the European Union to contribute to drawing Belarus closer to European standards in various spheres, being guided by the aspirations of its citizens,” said the party’s leadership.

The BPF also expressed disappointment at the Ukrainian government’s decision to back out of an association agreement with the EU, and condemned Russia’s “economic blackmail and political pressure” aimed at keeping Eastern European countries in its orbit of influence. //BelaPAN