Brussels, 04/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - In a declaration published last Friday, the Dutch presidency, on behalf of the EU, regretted the pressure exerted over the last few months by the Belarusian authorities on the European Humanities University in Minsk and its rector, Mr Mikhailov (unilateral decision not to renew the lease on university premises, revocation of the licence which gave the university legal personality). The EU considers these measures to be aimed at "harassing potential sources of dissident and non-aligned thinking" and above all "repressing civil society in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in October".
The EU considers that the decisions will hamper the capacity of the university (which benefits from support from the EU and member states such as Germany, France, Poland, Sweden and Lithuania) to continue its activities or even force it to close, with "dire consequences" for the future of hundreds of students and teachers and also for "bilateral and multilateral scientific, educational and cultural cooperation" with the EU. The decisions set a "negative precedent" for the respect of academic freedom and teaching autonomy and "an example of disregard for the basic principles of modern democratic society".
This is why the EU is cautioning Belarus about "the consequences of this policy for its relations with the EU and therefore strongly calls on the Belarusian authorities to reconsider its position".