European Parliament calls on Belarus to “stop immediately all repression”

Jerzy Buzek expresses his serious concern about “the recent worsening of the human rights situation in Belarus”.

President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek called on the Belarusian authorities on May 19 to “stop immediately all repression and intimidation of civil society groups and to get back on the way to democratization”.

As Buzek’s press service reports, on May 18, the EP President had a meeting with leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka and party’s deputy head Yaraslau Ramanchuk.

Buzek expressed his serious concern about “the recent worsening of the human rights situation in Belarus” in connection with “recent reports of repression and intimidation of civil society groups,” BelaPAN informs.

“We see no improvements [in the human rights situation] but a clear deterioration, and this is deeply worrying me,” Buzek said.

The EP President expressed his disappointment with the local election campaign, which “did not bring any visible improvements in how elections are held both in terms of transparency and meeting democratic standards”. He also turned attention to increasing pressure on independent media and two death sentences pronounced recently.

Buzek underlined that the EU–Belarus dialogue must be accompanied by “real progress in the field of democracy and clear signs of respect of human rights”. The politician reminded that the suspended sanctions against certain Belarusian officials will be revised in autumn 2010.