CoE Calls Into Question Belarus’ Good Intentions in Klimov’s Release :: Charter'97 :: News

Cancellation of the death penalty, liberation of the regime’s political opponents, enlarging the parliament’s functions, alteration of the election law – these are the major demands, which Belarus must stick to in order to normalize her relations with the Council of Europe, reads the special statement by the deputy of the German Bundestag , the CoE counselor for Belarus Wolfgang Berendt. The statement followed the release of an incarcerated 13th Supreme Soviet MP Andrei Klimov and was further disseminated via the German information channels. Berendt says he doubts Belarus’ good intentions in launching real political changes in Belarus, which could as well be a sole positive step on their part.

Wolfgang Berendt welcomes the release of Andrei Klimov but at the same time he notes that this good will gesture was marred by a series of circumstances. Parallel to the liberation of the regime’s opponent police captured and placed under arrest dozens of other opposition activists for their partaking in unsanctioned yet peaceful protest. This is another example of the old popular policy – one step forward, two – backward.

Same is being true with the process over the kidnappers and killers of the ORT cameraman Dmitry Zavadsky. The positive feature is the decision not to apply capital punishment against them, while the negative – government’s failure to satisfy the West’s claims in finding out the true reasons behind the reporter’s abduction.

The European parliamentarian urges the western politicians to pay their attention to the April session of the Belarusian “parliament”. The deputies are due to discuss there the new legislative acts, including the enhancement of the parliament’s authority and the new law on media.

Certain western politicians still harbor hopes that Russia will somehow influence the Belarusian government’s political course. As stressed on the pages of the German Die Welt by a prominent American politician, current professor of the Washington University of John Hopkins Zbignev Bzhesinsky, “taking into account the fact that Russia has serious influence over Belarus, Moscow should contribute to the democratic transition of Belarus towards genuine independence. Archaic, neo-Soviet regime of Lukashenko must be ousted by the real democracy,” – reports Radio Svaboda.