Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-14-Speech-3-461"
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"en.20090114.21.3-461"2
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"The signals coming from Belarus are not always clear-cut. Political prisoners have been freed, two independent newspapers have been allowed into the official distribution network and the ‘For Freedom’ movement led by the opposition presidential candidate Alexander Milinkievich has been registered. The Commissioner has mentioned this. On the other hand, however, members of the opposition are being re-arrested, and many of the released prisoners have had their rights restricted. There are dozens of newspapers waiting for authorisation like that granted to the two mentioned above, and numerous non-governmental organisations and political parties are constantly struggling to be registered or live under the threat of having their registration withdrawn. Monks and nuns are expelled, and the death penalty still exists.
We cannot turn our backs on Belarus. I do not, however, believe that the time has come to start dialogue between this parliament and that of Belarus. What we need to do is significantly reduce and simplify the procedures for issuing visas to citizens of Belarus, although this should obviously not apply to those who have good reason to be kept out of the European Union.
We also need to provide effective support, including financial support, for institutions which are important to setting up and developing civil society, such as independent non-governmental organisations, political parties and an independent press. We also need to raise the issue of worker’s rights in Belarus. Today there is no permanent employment outside government structures – everybody works on one-year contracts only. This gives the employer, and therefore the state, great clout over practically the whole of society.
The Eastern Partnership Initiative also opens new opportunities for the present authorities in Belarus. However, the country’s modernisation and its alignment with European political standards must proceed in the context of dialogue between the authorities and the democratic opposition in Belarus."@en1
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