Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-25-Speech-3-355"
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"en.20090325.29.3-355"2
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".
Mr President, we, too, are happy to support the continuation of the European Union’s policy of bringing about dialogue and closer cooperation with the Belarusian regime. We have been working on this for six or seven months already and we need to see whether what the European Union is aiming for also bears fruit over the coming period. That does not change the fact that we will continue to have our doubts about the intentions of a government that is not known for being democratic. I have personally had the honour of being in contact with the regime on a number of occasions and, believe me, Mr Lukashenko has not become a democrat overnight.
The fact that he wants more involvement with the European Union has to do with other factors, but the fact that that is what he wants is something that we can use in order to put pressure on him to move further along the path that he has now embarked on by taking a number of positive steps in the area of human rights. Like Mr Tannock, I think that it is still too early to speculate whether he should be rewarded with an Eastern Partnership. A real dialogue on human rights still needs to be brought about and violations of human rights are still taking place.
When it comes to dialogue on human rights, we believe that the opposition must be allowed to play a fully-fledged role. We have supported the opposition in all kinds of ways in recent years, including by means of awarding it two Sakharov prizes. Minsk thinks that it is not acceptable to support the opposition like that. There are precedents, however: for six or seven years I was personally involved in an attempt, along with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe, to bring about dialogue involving the government of Belarus and the then opposition. That attempt did not succeed, but it does represent a precedent for that kind of gathering.
The European policy that we want must clearly contribute to greater freedom and openness. The points that we think are important are also mentioned in the resolution that is currently on the table. If progress is made on these points over the next few months, we believe that further EU restrictions can then be lifted.
There are a couple more points I would like to add. Firstly, we believe that the Commission also needs to take account of the fact that there is so little knowledge about the European Union in Belarus and that a satellite TV station will not change that. More must be done from the country itself and in the country itself. Secondly, I urge that the authorities in Minsk be asked whether it is not finally time to lift all the restrictions on travel by the children of Chernobyl.
My final comment is on a somewhat more personal note. The new situation has, at least, delivered one thing, and that is that, for the first time in six or seven years, I have been granted a visa, making it possible for me and a delegation from Parliament to travel to Belarus for a few weeks, an opportunity that I will be happy to seize upon."@en1
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