European foreign ministers adopted a final resolution on Belarus at a meeting of the European Council on Foreign Affairs in Brussels on January 31. The final hearing on sanctions against the Belarusian leadership was attended by 27 foreign ministers of the EU countries.
EU visa bans were imposed on Belarusian president and about 150 Belarusian officials responsible, according to the European Ministers, for the violent crackdown on the opposition on Election Day on December 19. Furthermore, the reason for the sanctions was the violation of human rights in Belarus, Reuters reported with reference to the diplomatic sources in Brussels.
Also, the EU decided to freeze the assets of the Belarusian leadership from the list of 2006 (including Alexander Lukashenko and another 40 senior officials — Telegraf) and supplement it with those, involved in the December events in Minsk. Economic sanctions against Belarus were not reported about.
Meanwhile, as Telegraf previously reported, Vladimir Niakliaeu, Aleh Korban, Anatoli Pavlov, Sergei Vozniak, Vladimir Kobets and Irina Khalip, accused of organizing and participating in the riots on December 19 in Minsk, who had previously been detained in prison, now have got their measure of restraint changed. In particular, Vladimir Niakliaeu and Irina Khalip were placed under house arrest, others were released on their recognizance not to leave.
Those, under house arrest, are forbidden to talk on the phone and go for a walk. The others are allowed staying in the territory of the locality of their registration. In particular, this applies to the editor of «Charter 97» Natalia Radina, released on recognizance not to leave in the evening on January 28. Together with other 36 persons, she was charged with organizing and participating in the riots, which may entail the punishment of 3-15 years of imprisonment.
The European Parliament adopted an unprecedentedly strong resolution on the situation in Belarus on January 20, calling on the EU countries to immediately introduce visa and economic sanctions against the official Minsk.
The document, in particular, called for the EU visa ban and assets freeze of the Belarusian senior executives, government officials, the judiciary and security agencies, which, according to the European Union, are responsible for the fraudulent Presidential elections
of December 19, 2010 and the subsequent violent crackdown on democratic opposition.
In addition, the resolution points out that the Belarusian authorities should hold new free elections.
In turn, Secretary of the Central Election Commission of Belarus Nikolai Lozovik said that the government could no longer go on a rerun of the presidential election, as required by the European Parliament in its resolution of January 20.
Foreign Ministers of the EU countries made the final decision to impose sanctions on Belarus on January 31. Full text of resolution follows below.
Council conclusions on Belarus
3065th FOREIGN AFFAIRS Council meeting
Brussels, 31 January 2011
The Council adopted the following conclusions:
«1. Recalling its previous conclusions on Belarus and in particular its Conclusions of October 2010
and the Statement by High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Catherine Ashton on 20 December, as well as other EU statements regarding the Presidential
elections of 19 December 2010 and its violent aftermath, the Council deeply regrets that, according
to OSCE/ODIHR, the Presidential elections demonstrated that Belarus still has a considerable way
to go in meeting its OSCE commitments. In particular the electoral process deteriorated
significantly during the vote count, undermining the steps taken to improve the conduct of the
elections.
2. The Council particularly deplores that the election night was marred by violence by the
Belarusian authorities. It strongly condemns the arrest of many presidential candidates, hundreds of
activists, journalists and civil society representatives, as well as the ensuing detention and
harassment of the opposition, independent media and civil society on political grounds.
3. The Council reiterates its demands for the immediate release of those detained on political
grounds following the elections on 19 December, and their rehabilitation. The Council urges
Belarus to respect the rights of detainees and their families, paying particular attention to detainees’
children, and the right to legal representation. Furthermore, it underlines the need to ensure the
access of family members to the detainees. The Council calls on the Belarusian authorities to end
the persecution of democratic forces, independent media and representatives of civil society, and
students, and to end any penalisation or discrimination against those exercising their right to
freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, including the leaders of the opposition parties.
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4. The EU regrets the decision of the Belarusian authorities not to renew the mandate of the OSCE
Office in Minsk. The EU strongly believes that the mandate of the OSCE Office has not yet been
fulfilled and calls for an urgent reversal of this decision by the Belarusian authorities.
5. In view of these recent events and developments, the Council has decided to impose travel
restrictions and an asset freeze against persons responsible for the fraudulent Presidential elections
of 19 December 2010 and the subsequent violent crackdown on democratic opposition, civil society
and representatives of independent mass media. The Council has also decided to reinstate the travel
restrictions imposed on certain persons in Belarus in relation to the elections in 2004 and 2006 and
the crackdown on civil society and democratic opposition, which had been suspended since 13
October 2008 in order to encourage progress. These restrictive measures and the list of persons
targeted will be kept open and under constant review. The Council underlines that the release and
rehabilitation of all people detained on political grounds would be an essential element in this
regard. This, along with progress towards further reforms of the Electoral Code, the freedom of
expression and of the media, the freedom of assembly and association, would pave the way for the
lifting of the restrictive measures.
6. The European Union remains strongly committed to strengthening its engagement with the
Belarusian people and civil society. The EU is therefore working on measures to provide urgent
support to those repressed and detained on political grounds and their families, as well as support to
civil society. It will also review its assistance to Belarus which is aimed at addressing the needs of
the population, in order to further strengthen support to civil society, targeting in particular NGOs
and students, including through the International Donors’ Conference in Warsaw on 2 February.
7. The Council recalls the importance it attaches to facilitating people-to-people contacts with
Belarus to the benefit of the Belarusian population at large. It looks forward to the start of
negotiations for visa facilitation and readmission agreements with Belarus, once the negotiating
directives have been adopted. Pending the conclusion of such agreements, the EU will encourage
the optimal use of the existing flexibilities offered by the Visa Code, in particular the possibilities
for Member States to waive and reduce visa fees for certain categories of citizens.
8. The EU remains committed to its policy of critical engagement, including through dialogue and
the Eastern Partnership, and recalls that the EU has consistently offered to deepen its relationship
with Belarus. The Council reiterates that such a deepening is conditional on progress towards
respect by the Belarusian authorities for the principles of democracy, the rule of law and human
rights. The Union remains open to developing bilateral relations with Belarus, provided the
Belarusian authorities prove their willingness to respect these principles. The Council will regularly
re-examine the situation in Belarus and stands ready to consider further targeted measures in all
areas of cooperation as appropriate.
