Stefan Fule: It is not possible to act in Belarus with no fear of repressions

That is the essence of Lukashenka’s regime.

The European Commissioner for enlargement and European neighborhood policy, former Minister of European Affairs of Czech Republic, Stefan Fule said that in an interview to the Russian office of Radio Svaboda.

“There is not only the problem of political prisoners, it is the matter of a general crisis. This refers also to the level of democracy, and the rule of law, and the absence of free and fair elections for many years. There is no opportunity for democratic forces in Belarus to act without apprehension of immediate repressions on the part of the authorities. This is the essence of Lukashenka’s regime, and that is why all the EU member states keep taking it with extreme criticism”, - Stefan Fule.

At the same time the European Commissioner noted that there is a certain progress in the area of human rights observed on the part of Ukraine. He linked it to Viktar Janukovich’s decision to release some political prisoners.

“We can now observe a certain progress on the part of Ukraine in all three listed areas, including first of all the judiciary, which remains politically engaged. The release of a former Minister of Interior of Ukraine Jury Lucenka and former Minister of Environment Protection Georgij Filipchuk is a move in the right direction. However, more is needed to be done, first of all, present the evidence that the recurrence of such incidents is no longer possible”, - Stefan Fule said.