Evelyn Regner (S&D, Austria), the Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), gave her support to the Belarusian people on Wednesday 9 September, particularly to the “thousands of strong women (who) have peacefully taken to the streets” since the disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko in August (see EUROPE 12544/9).
With reference to beatings, the torture of Belarusian citizens and the kidnapping of opposition leaders, she condemned a situation that the EU finds unacceptable and called for harsh sanctions, “including against Lukashenko”.
“We cannot just turn away when opposition leaders like Maria Kolesnikova are kidnapped and arrested”, she said, adding that it was crucial for “the European Union to support Belarusian women in their fight for democracy and an equal society”.
Sakharov 2020. On Wednesday, the S&D group also announced that it was nominating “the brave Belarusian women, led by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Maria Kolesnikova and Veranika Tsapkala” for the 2020 Sakharov Prize.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya (see EUROPE 12555/29) was the main opposition candidate in the 2020 Belarusian elections. Maria Kolesnikova is a member of the Executive Committee of the Coordinating Council, the political organisation created by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Veranika Tsapkala joined Svetlana Tikhanovskaya when Tikhanovskaya took the place of her husband, who was unable to stand for election. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)