Skip to main content

ECPM and ECPYN take action towards the Belarusian Ambassadors

On 23 December, the ECPM and its youth association the ECPYN sent an open letter to the Belarusian ambassadors. Based on the latest developments, both organisations are very worried about the unexpected detentions of political activists that occurred this week. One year after the peaceful demonstrations, followed by extremely harsh measures by the Belarusian authorities, it looks like similar tactics are being used again by the Belarusian government to silence members of the opposition. The open letter is listed below
 



Your Excellency,

Following opposition protests after the presidential election on 19 December 2010, your authorities detained fourteen political activists fighting for free and fair elections in your country. These activists are now serving prison or labour camp sentences in inhuman conditions. Our party strongly condemns this, and finds that your government’s measures violate international human rights and the right to exercise freedom of religion and conscience.

Further to this, we have recently been astonished to hear that co-chairman of the Belarusian Christian Democrats and former presidential candidate Vital Rymasheuski was detained in the early afternoon of 19 December 2011, while leaving his house. He is a genuine Christian Democrat, and it is unacceptable for him to be deprived of the right to religion and conscience and to be prevented from freely holding a political opinion in his own country.

The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) and its youth section the European Christian Political Youth Network (ECPYN) strongly believe that your Excellency’s direction of a representation in a free European country enables you to see a clear distinction between the democratic country you are currently based in and the deficit of democracy in your own country. The ECPM is a European political party recognized by the European Parliament.

We hereby call upon your Excellency to urge for the immediate release and rehabilitation of Pavel Sieviaryniets and thirteen other political prisoners, who are suffering under the oppression of the current regime. Furthermore, in co-operation with the Belarusian Christian Democratic Party, we strongly urge the Belarusian government to make changes to electoral law, providing equal rights to state and non-state mass media in preparation for free and democratic elections next year.

The ECPM explicitly requests that the authorities ensure the unhindered official registration of democratic parties and organisations, such as the recently-constituted Belarusian Christian Democratic Party.

With the approach of Christmas and the new year we would also remind you that Christmas is a time of unconditional love which the Belarusian government will be betraying if it continues to systematically  suppress fundamental  human rights.

We request that you convey our concerns to the relevant departments in your government, to seek the earliest possible resolution.

In closing, we wish you and the people of Belarus a Blessed Christmas and a New Year of hope and renewal.

Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of our highest consideration.

Yours sincerely,
The Boards of ECPM & ECPYN
23 December 2011
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christmas Greeting

1 comment
Read more

Corruption Scandal on the Sale of Schengen Visas in Malta discussed in the European Parliament

Ivan Grech Mintoff (leader of the ECPM-Member Party Alleanza Bidla) presented in the Maltese court  a transcript of the testimonies of several Libyans who claimed that in 2015, they bought an unknown number of humanitarian medical visas from an official in the Office of the of the Maltese Prime Minister. These medical visas are not supposed to be sold. Following an agreement between Malta and Libya, they are issued for free. The documents submitted in the court also claim that Schengen visas were illicitly sold at the Maltese Consulate in Tripoli over a period of 14 months (in 2013 and 2014). In this period, 88000 Schengen Visas (300 visas per day including Saturdays and Sundays) have been sold. This illegal scheme could have earned the perpetrators millions of euros.  Although the Consulate in Tripoli has closed, it is unclear if this practice has stopped or is still continuing via other countries or Malta up to today. On the 27th of June, ECPM invited Mr Mintoff to the E...
9 comments
Read more

Third refusal of the registration of the Belarusian Christian Democracy, despite of international pressure

Some time ago,I wrote here about the situation in Belarus concerning the Belarusian Christian Democracy and their attempts to legally register their party. Recently a new constituency congress was organized in order to try to register the party for the third time. However, on the same day that the EU Council of Foreign Ministers will discuss about the "Belarusian issue", from their press center I received the news that it is unlikely that the party will be officially registered this time On October,24 expired the term allocated by the law for making decision on registration of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party, It is worth mentioning that on September 12, 2010 the third Constituent Congress of the BCD was held and on September,19 the Belarusian Christian Democracy party applied for registration to the Ministry of Justice. But with the looming prospect of the meeting of the Council of EU Foreign Ministers to be held today, on the 25th of October in Brussels, during whic...
Post a Comment
Read more