Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-03-10-Speech-4-299-000"
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"en.20110310.20.4-299-000"2
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"Mr President, we are concerned about the worsening situation in Belarus, which unfortunately comes as no surprise. The widespread detention and prosecution of civil society activists, including presidential candidates, in the post-election period led us to expect harsh sentences to follow. As of today, we already know of four cases where individuals have been sentenced to several years in prison. We fear that many more such sentences, involving up to 40 people who now stand accused, will follow in months to come. What is more, we have been appalled by reports of the torture and ill-treatment of people detained on political grounds, including ex-presidential candidate Mikhalevich.
All these despicable events may call for an update of our EU response. The situation today is as follows: as you know, the EU reacted to the fraudulent elections of 19 December and to the subsequent repression by putting nearly 160 people on a sanction list. This was a very clear and strong message of condemnation to the authorities. At the same time, the Commission and the European External Action Service have swiftly designed new dedicated assistance tools to provide urgent support to the victims of repression, their families and civil society, up to an amount of EUR 1.7 million. This assistance is being delivered with the initial focus on providing legal assistance and counselling to victims of repression and on support to civil society organisations and civic campaigns.
We are also finalising a re-orientation of our mid-term assistance to Belarus to increase support to civil society. The Commission is quadrupling its aid to Belarusian civil society for the period 2011-2013 to a total of EUR 15.6 million, with particular attention given to strengthening independent media and supporting students, including by maintaining funding for the European Humanities University.
It is now time to reflect on whether an additional response is needed. The High Representative issued an immediate condemnation following the first sentence on 18 February, and she recalled that political motives had no place in a legal process. The EU also strongly condemned the harsh sentences and torture allegations at the OSCE and is discussing the matter at the UN Human Rights Council.
Finally, the European Union will discuss whether the latest events call for a further expansion of our existing sanction list to add new names such as those responsible for issuing the latest sentences and leading the recent crackdown. The EU stands ready to consider further targeted measures in all areas of cooperation as appropriate.
Parliament’s resolution will certainly be a useful and timely contribution to our reflections and discussions. I thank Members for their attention."@en1
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