Condemning the crackdown on peaceful demonstrators and the various acts of repression carried out ahead of demonstrations on 25 March 2017, during 'Freedom Day' and demonstrations, MEPs urged the Belarusian authorities on Thursday 6 April to release all peaceful demonstrators immediately and unconditionally, along with journalists, human rights defenders, civil society activists and members of the opposition.
In a joint resolution on Belarus from the ECR, S&D, Greens/EFA, ALDE and EPP Groups, MEPs call on the Belarusian authorities to stop the court cases against these people. They say that they consider the practice of preventive arrests as absolutely unacceptable. Believing that the Belarusian security services had acted inappropriately and indiscriminately at the demonstrations, the MEPs state that the use of force against anybody exercising their peaceful right to demonstrate can never be justified. According to the European Parliament, the Belarusian authorities should conduct immediate in-depth and objective investigations into all the allegations of arbitrary detention and other violations of demonstrators' rights in the context of the recent demonstrations.
MEPs warn that if this is not done, the EU could apply new restrictive measures against the most senior Belarusian officials responsible for the recent crackdown. The European Parliament nevertheless has no power over the adoption of sanctions. The EU should define clear criteria and apply systematic requirements for the respect of human rights in order to pave the way for reforms that protect fundamental freedoms and human rights, the MEPs add.
According to the European Parliament, there is a desperate need for a wider democratisation process in Belarus. MEPs thus call on the government of Belarus to commit to an open and constructive dialogue with its citizens, the opposition, independent civil society organisations and independent media. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)