Brussels, 04/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - Is the EU moving towards further sanctions against Belarus and its president, Alexander Lukashenko? This subject was discussed during the Christmas truce and is expected to be tackled on Friday 7 January by ambassadors during the Political and Security Committee. It will also be on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council planned for 31 January in Brussels, explained the Commission. The Council will examine the repercussions on EU-Belarus relations of the 19 December incidents.
Germany and Sweden were the first to open hostilities in the press on Monday and Tuesday against the contested winner of the presidential elections of 19 December last and the reasons for the arrest of political opponents. The two countries are calling for an EU27 level debate (unanimity is required on this subject) and say that they are prepared to reintroduce sanctions against the Lukashenko government through the possible updating of a visa ban for the Belarus president and other officials.
In 2006, President Lukashenko already had to face a visa ban, as well as having his assets frozen, following the contested presidential elections at the time. Thirty-four officials were also included in this EU blacklist, following the arrest of Alexander Kozulin, the presidential candidate in 2006, explained the Commission. European sanctions did not include economic level sanctions, an effort to prevent penalising the whole country. Two years later, in 2008, the European Union lifted reprisal measures, however, following the Belarus government's decision to release several political prisoners. (Cor./transl.fl)
L'ESU denounces student arrests. The European Students Union (ESU) has condemned the arrest and imprisonment of 18 students during protest demonstrations following the election of Alexander Lukashenko as the president of Belarus. These arrests continued until after Christmas. The ESU sent a letter to the commissioner for education, culture and youth, Androulla Vassiliou, in which it denounces the situation and expresses fears of further arrests being made, which would put the freedom of universities and institutional autonomy in Belarus in danger. The ESU emphasises that this situation should mean that the European Union and all countries participating in the Bologna process rethink this situation because the Belarus minister of education had mentioned the possibility of taking part in the process in the near future. In its letter, the ESU states that “the right to education, the academic freedom and the freedom of speech and association of all these students is at stake. No member country of the European Higher Education Area should tolerate this breach of its values”. The student organisation is subsequently calling on Vassiliou to intervene and present an emergency request to the Belarus minister for education, Alexander Mikhailovich Radkov, asking him not to expel students from the universities who took part in the demonstrations on 19 December. The commissioner is also urged to appeal to European Union member states in connection with these events, in order to protect European values. (I.L./transl.fl)