MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
7 March 2005
pursuant to Rule 115(5) of the Rules of Procedure
by Elisabeth Schroedter, Joost Lagendijk and Marie Anne Isler Béguin
on behalf of the Green/EFA Group
on the case if Mikhail Marinich in Belarus
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B6-0193/2005
B6-0212/2005
European parliament resolution on the case of Mikhail Marinich in Belarus
The European parliament,
- having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Belarus, in particular its resolutions of 16 September and of 27 October 2004,
- having regard, in particular, to its resolution of 24 October 1996 on the situation in Belarus, in which it decided that no further steps would be taken towards ratification of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement until clear signals had been given by the Belarus authorities of their intention to fully respect basic democratic and human rights,
- having regard, in particular, to its resolution of 5 July 2001 on Belarus adopted prior to the 2001 presidential elections, and to the reports of the Parliamentary Troika (OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and European Parliament) published after the 2000 general elections (30 January 2001) and the 2001 presidential elections (4 October 2001),
- having regard to its resolution of 11 February 2003 on relations between the European Union and Belarus: towards a future partnership,
- having regard to the declaration by the Head of the OSCE Office in Minsk on the attacks on opposition politicians in Minsk,
- having regard to the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004, which was signed by the President of the United States on 20 October 2004,
- having regard to the resolutions by the Council of Europe on the situation in Belarus and, in particular, to its resolution of 28 April 2004 on the persecution of the press in the Republic of Belarus,
- having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. recalling that the International Election Observation Mission for the parliamentary elections in Belarus which took place in October 2004 came to the conclusion that the Belarussian authorities failed to ensure the fundamental conditions necessary for the will of the people to serve as a basis for authority of government and that the democratic principles were largely disregarded by the authorities,
B. stressing that the elections were marred by flaws and deficiencies, the opposition was massively prevented from campaigning and police searched campaign offices and detained or harassed campaign workers and domestic observers,
C. pointing out that Belarus is the only European country without contractual relations with the EU due to massive human rights violations and the de facto dictatorship of the so called “president” Lukashenko,
D. underlining that the situation in Belarus has shown no sign of improvement whereas the Lower House is deprived of its legislative rights, the economic life is ruled by the president, members of the democratic opposition are imprisoned and other forms of repression are used against them which included the de-registration of political parties in the run-up to the elections, the harassment and intimidation of opposition candidates and the banning of representatives of opposition parties at polling stations,
E. highly concerned amongst others by the case of Mikhail Marinich, a former Minister of External Economic Relations and ambassador, who was sentenced on 30 December 2004 to five years’ imprisonment and a subsequent ban on holding public office and confiscation of property for the alleged illegal misappropriations of computers owned by the US Embassy,
F. whereas the regional court of Minsk commuted the sentence and reduced the term of imprisonment to 3 years and 6 months,
G. highlighting that no progress has been made in the unsolved cases of a number of disappeared persons with regard, in particular, to Viktor Gonchar, Anatoly Krasovsky, Yury Zakharenko and Dmitry Zavadsky,
H. whereas over the past few years several political parties and more than 50 pro-democracy NGOs of different levels and different political orientations, 25 independent mass media entities, and several educational establishments have been closed for ‘technical’ reasons, but whereas it was clear that in all cases these organisations were punished for criticising the President and his policy,
I. whereas politically motivated arrests and trials of activists of the democratic movement and independent journalists, and deportations of foreign citizens are continually taking place in Belarus; whereas in September 2004 two members of the Belarus opposition, Valery Levonevsky and Alexander Vasilyev, were condemned to two years in prison on a charge of defaming the President of Belarus,
J. deeply concerned at the critical statement of Miklos Haraszti, representative on media of OSCE, about the increasing of interference of the government into the media, the unacceptable media law which violates the Helsinki-Convention 1975 (which Belarus signed), and the accusations of defamation against journalists;
L. pointing out that no political and diplomatic efforts should be spared so as to bring Belarus back to the European family thus allowing this country to play its important role in the development of the European Neighbourhood Policy,
1. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Mikhail Marynich;
2. Calls on the Belarus authorities to release immediately Valery Levonevsky, Alexander Vasilyev and all the other political prisoners of the regime;
3. Reiterates its call for the immediate release of Professor Bandazhevsky, a medical academic specialising in nuclear medicine who was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment on 18 June 2001 for his open criticism of the state authorities related to scientific research into the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 1986;
4. Calls for an independent investigation to be opened under an international monitoring regarding the case of the disapearance of Yuri Zakharenko, the former Minister of Interior; Victor Gonchar, former Vice-President of the Parliament of Belarus; Anatoly Krasovsky, a businessman; and Dmitry Zavadski, a cameraman for the Russian TV channel ORT; points out that this would prove that Belarus is willing to comply with the rule of law and to respect the values upon which the organisations to which Belarus is party (Council of Europe and OSCE) are founded;
5. Considers that President Lukashenko's extension of his presidential term by referendum is a further confirmation of the authoritarian way in which he rules the country;
6. Calls on the Commission to guarantee asylum in EU Member States for the victims of the Lukashenko regime;
7. Endorses the Action Plan for promoting democracy in Belarus adopted by the EP Delegation for Relations with Belarus which include the appointment of a EU special representative, the identification and freezing of the personal assets of Lukashenko, the pressure on the Minsk authorities to release immediately all the prisoners of conscience, the creation of a fund to help the families of the disappeared persons and others victims of the Belarus regime, increasing the list of Belarus authorities subject to visa ban for the EU and guarantee of asylum in the EU for the victims of the Lukashenko regime; calls for their urgent implementation;
8. Supports the creation of alternative and accessible information sources such as TV and radio stations in the neighbouring countries with a view to breaking the isolation and reaching as many people of Belarus as possible and stepping up pressure on the regime;
9. Takes the view that further steps need to be taken in order to strengthen civil society and support NGOs working towards democratisation and respect for human rights such as the increased access to exchanges at all levels and to EU programmes;
10. Urges the Commission, the Council and the governments of the Member States at the same time to increase - together with other democratic countries and international institutions - support for all remaining democratic forces in Belarus and to assist more effectively those people in Belarusian civil society working for democratic change in Belarus by reconsidering the EU financial instruments for this country;
11. Supports the creation of a ring-fenced European Endowment for Democracy, within the framework of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, to help support the democratic transformation process;
12. Calls on the Commission and the Council to set up a fund to help the families of the disappeared persons and other victims of the Belarus regime;
13. Calls, in this respect, on the Council and the Commission to raise the question of Belarus with President Putin at the next EU-Russia summit due to take place on 10 May 2005;
14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, the Government and the Parliament of Belarus, the government and the President of Russia, the OSCE and the Council of Europe.