German Social Democrats Follow Fate of Belarusian Political Prisoner :: Charter'97 :: News

German Social Democrats intensely watch over the fate of the leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada) Mikola Statkevich. Frank Schauff, the head of the International politics’ department of the Social-Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) told to the BalePAN reporter. “We have very good personal relations with Mister Statkevich. He personally knows Gerhard Schroeder and other SDP leaders, he often came to us as a guest,” F.Schauff said.

He reminded that Schroeder has sent a letter to the authorities of Belarus, supporting Statkevich. However, it is possible that a letter is not always a sufficient measure”, Schauff said.

As said by him, the European policy towards Belarus is “on the whole, inadequate”, and the SPD is taking steps to change that. The European structures, F.Schauff believes, are out of shape now because of the crisis concerning the European Constitution adoption. At the same time, the SPD, Germany’s ruling party, “is in the pre-election rush, when internal questions are more important that the problems of foreign policy”.

However, F.Schauff thinks that the attitude of the Social-Democrats, as well as the attitude of the EU, should change to a “harder line towards Lukashenka”. “Our party is not passive now”, F.Schauff underlined. “Maybe not everything is known to all”.

On Ma y 31 Mikola Statkevich was sentenced to three years of personal restrain, for organizing on October 18-19 mass protests against rigged official results of parliamentarian elections and referendum. After an amnesty his term was reduced for a year. The politician serves the sentence in Baranivichy.