MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation of civil society and national minorities in Belarus

4.3.2010

to wind up the debate on statements by the European Council and Commission
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Helmut Scholz, Jiří Maštálka on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group

B7‑0162/2010

European Parliament resolution on the situation of civil society and national minorities in Belarus

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to its previous resolution on Belarus,

–   having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas one fifth of the Belarusian population consists of 130 nationalities, including Russians (11 %), Poles (3.9 %), Ukrainians (2.4 %), as well as Armenians, Tatars, Roma, Lithuanians, Azerbaijanis, Moldavians, Germans, Georgians and others; whereas each and every nationality enjoys legally ensured rights to preserve and develop its native language, culture, customs and traditions,

B.  whereas the Union of Poles in Belarus (ZPB) was established in 1990; whereas, apart from this organisation, other Polish associations exist in Belarus; whereas there are 12 newspapers and magazines in Polish and two Polish schools (in Hrodna and Valkavysk),

C. whereas in 2005 conflicts concerning the election of a new leadership of the Union of Poles resulted in a division of the organisation into two branches: the original under Borys (ZPB-B) and another, led by Stanislav Siemaszko (ZPB-S); whereas the Belarusian authorities registered only the ZPB-S; whereas the Polish government recognizes the ZPB-B as the only legal representative of ethnic Poles in Belarus.

D. whereas on 8 February Belarusian justice officials descended on the Polish House in Ivyanets (Iweniec) claiming that a faction of the Union of Poles of Belarus had taken over the house illegally; whereas only a few days later, on 17 February, a Belarusian court ruled that the headquarters of the organization must be turned over to the ZPB-S; whereas the leader of the Union of Poles in Belarus, Angelika Borys and around 40 other activists were arrested on their way to a rally in Valozhyn, but later released,

E.  whereas these events resulted in an escalation of tensions between Poland and Belarus; whereas on 9 February 2010 Poland recalled its ambassador and has since threatened to freeze progress in EU-Belarus relations and to lobby the IMF to cut off aid following a crackdown on ethnic Poles,

F.  whereas the civil and democratic human rights situation in Belarus remains unsatisfactory; whereas 2009 saw some positive steps, including the resumption of state distribution of three independent publications, the registering of one radio station and one non-governmental organization and the release of all political prisoners in 2008,

G. whereas Belarus is the only country in Europe that continues to use the death penalty; whereas at least two people were sentenced to death in 2009,

1.  Deeply deplores the politicisation and internationalisation of the conflict surrounding the Union of Poles in Belarus; takes the view that this is not a minority issue but an internal problem within one of the minority organizations in Belarus which can be resolved only by the organisation itself;

2.  Is deeply concerned at the tensions between Poland and Belarus and calls on both countries to immediately resume the dialogue on all questions of bilateral concern;

3.  Insists on the continuation of the development of constructive relations between the EU and Belarus in 2009; takes the view that the European Parliament should support this policy by establishing normal interparliamentary relations; takes the view that this is the appropriate framework for a comprehensive dialogue on issues of common interest, including those where the partners have fundamental differences;

4.  Wishes the Eastern Partnership to develop into a project between equal partners; insists that participation in the interparliamentary assembly EURONEST should be agreed on the basis of consensus between all participating parliaments without discrimination against any side;

5.  Notes that further measures are necessary to meet democratic standards and OSCE election criteria, including:

-    respect for freedom of expression, association and assembly,

-    release of all remaining political prisoners,

-    creation of favourable conditions for operation of political parties, NGOs and independent media,

-    changes to the electoral law in line with the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations;

6.  Firmly condemns the repeated use of the death penalty in Belarus and points out that this runs counter to the statements by the Belarusian authorities during the past years that they would gradually restrict capital punishment; calls on Belarus to introduce a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to its abolition; expects that this issue will be efficiently tackled in the framework of the recently established Human Rights Dialogue between Belarus and the EU;

7.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, the Secretariat of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Parliament and Government of Belarus.