In a joint resolution from the ECR, ALDE, Greens/EFA, S&D and EPP Groups on Thursday 4 October, MEPs urged the Belarusian authorities to put an end to the judicial harassment, intimidation and threats against independent media and journalists.
Describing the Belarusian authorities' blockage of the Charter 97 news website since January 2018 as "unacceptable", the European Parliament again called for the country's authorities to lift the ban on accessing the website on Belarusian territory immediately and unconditionally, and more generally to authorise all new online media to carry out their activities in complete freedom. The MEPs said that independent media are not a threat for the authorities but are, on the contrary, an essential element in the balance of power system and should therefore be perceived by the government as a potential critical partner rather than as an enemy.
Similarly, the Parliament says the Belarusian authorities should allow political and public organisations to exercise their activities fully and freely, and immediately and unconditionally release political prisoners.
The Parliament states that the Belarusian crackdown on actors who are perceived as a threat to the established order compromises any rapprochement with the EU and any strengthening of Belarus' participation in the framework of the Eastern Partnership. As part of the EU-Belarus partnership, the European institutions must thus underline the independence of the media, the freedom of expression and the freedom of assembly, and continue their support for civil society organisations and independent news sources. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)