In a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday 13 September, the leader of Belarus’ democratic political opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said that the European Union was her country’s “final destination”.
“We want to be part of this family. We want to go home to Europe. Europe is in our DNA”, she emphasised to a Parliament that had rallied to her cause, recalling that the Belarusian democratic forces had adopted a declaration defining their country’s accession to the EU as a strategic objective.
According to Mrs Tsikhanouskaya, without Belarus joining, “the European project will never be complete”. “The EU from Lisbon to Minsk is a nightmare for Putin, but for us it is a reality, the reality in which we want to live”, insisted the political opponent, who called on MEPs to support Belarus’ European perspective. “Belarusians want to hear your voice telling them that the EU is waiting for them, that they have not been abandoned to Putin as a consolation prize”, she added.
A request heard by the European Parliament. In the report by Petras Auštrevičius (Renew Europe, Lithuanian) on EU-Belarus relations, which they adopted immediately after Mrs Tsikhanouskaya’s speech (453 votes in favour, 21 against and 40 abstentions), MEPs “warmly support” the statements on the European aspirations of Belarusians. The European Parliament also called on the international community, including the EU, to redouble its efforts to formalise cooperation with the Belarusian democratic forces, which “should be considered as democratic representatives of the Belarusian people”.
MEPs are calling on the EU and its Member States to develop a more ambitious strategy and to provide greater economic support to these democratic forces. They also say that the EU should develop a common strategy to preserve Belarus’ independence and ensure its transition to democracy.
In her speech, Mrs Tsikhanouskaya also paid tribute to the “courageous people” of Belarus who are resisting, to the “many silent heroes”. She said that her country was going through a “silent war”, with the Kremlin’s aim of turning a sovereign country into a Russian colony. “And Putin is not alone in this venture, he is working hand in hand with Lukashenka, who is selling off our country, our independence piece by piece”, stressed the opponent.
Mrs Tsikhanouskaya also denounced the regime’s decision to no longer allow people to obtain a Belarusian passport abroad, saying that she was working on the launch of a national Belarusian passport with the advice of experts from the European Commission. She called on governments to recognise this passport. 300,000 Belarusians are thought to have fled their country.
The opponent called for continued “pressure on the dictator” Lukashenka, warning that there should be no exceptions or loopholes in the sanctions and that Lukashenka must be held to account.
In their report, MEPs strongly condemn the role of the Belarus regime in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including the supply of arms and the hosting of Wagner fighters, which creates new potential security risks for neighbours and the EU.
They also denounce in the strongest possible terms the “relentless repression” and “systematic and widespread violations” of human rights committed “on an ongoing basis” by Lukashenka’s regime against the Belarusian people, particularly minorities, demanding an end to “this spiral of violence, torture, repression and propaganda against dissenting voices and perceived critics”. The European Parliament calls for tougher EU sanctions against Belarus.
Finally, Parliament underlines its concerns about the “transparency, freedom and fairness” of the forthcoming parliamentary and local elections in Belarus in 2024.
To see the report: https://aeur.eu/f/8ja (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)