Two Belarusian Delegations En Route to Vienna :: Charter'97 :: News

Official and opposition delegations from Belarus will engage in another session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. During the session the Permanent Committee will consider the “national assembly’s” possible membership in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Leader of the Belarusian liberal-democrats Sergei Gaidukevich will deliver a speech on the necessity to legitimize the lower chamber of the “parliament”.

Given they fail to get seats for the “national assembly” in the OSCE PA this time, there’ll be no more point in their attending the sessions anymore, says the member of the official delegation, deputy of the “house of representatives” Anatoly Krasutsky: “The issue has to be resolved now and for all and I see no point in continuing our journeys there, should your request remain unmet,” – said he to the Radio Svaboda.

Krasutsky states that the “parliamentary” delegation with Vice-Speaker Vladimir Konoplev at the head will attempt to get seats in the OSCE PA, while the opposition delegates are traveling to Vienna as mere guests without any official status.

However, the head of the alternative delegation, UCP chair Anatoly Lebedko argued by saying that the legal status and opportunities of both Belarusian delegations are pretty much the same. Anatoly Lebedko and his deputy Yaroslav Romanchuk will confront any attempts to legitimize the “national assembly”, which are mostly undertaken by Russians.

Lebedko said this: “The situation is really complicated and only became worse with time. I would say that our chances are 50/50. Everything will depend on whether we will manage to hold bilateral meetings with certain delegations ahead of the Belarusian debates in OSCE PA. There can be the following decisions made: either to provide seats for the “national assembly” or not to do that; and, second one, to postpone the hearings till summer session, giving some time-out for the official Minsk, which will then have to demonstrate some liberalization examples in Belarus”.