Swedish human rights activists: EU’s policy is gift for Lukashenka

Östgruppen human rights initiative regrets the EU meets desires of the Belarusian regime.

According to Martin Uggla, head of Östgruppen human rights initiative, the EU’s new policy of “constructive contacts” is a gift for the Belarusian ruler as it facilitates its legitimatization, Radio Svaboda reports.

As Swedish human rights activists think, changing the “Belarusian policy” was aimed at softening European sanctions in exchange for democratic processes in the country. In summer 2008, three political prisoners were released in Belarus. The authorities also allowed some independent newspapers to be distributed via state-run news-stalls.

“It was an absolutely right direction, though as it turned out later, only cosmetic changes were meant. Nothing was made to adopt new laws on media and NGOs freedom, improve legal system, make it independent from the authorities,” Martin Uggla thinks.

He regrets in his statement that the EU meets desires of the Belarusian regime forgetting the priority of human rights.