Belarus Election: Ukraine Issues a Declaration in the PACE

The Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has launched a declaration on the situation in Belarus, where protests are taking place after the presidential election. The delegation head, MP Elizabeth Yasko announced this.

The declaration states, in particular, that the presidential election in Belarus on 9 August does not meet international electoral standards and does not reflect the free will of the Belarusian people. The authors also condemned actions against peaceful protesters in Belarusian cities.

“We call on the Belarussian authorities to immediately release all illegally detained participants in peaceful meetings. We insist on the earliest possible start of a peaceful dialogue between all the parties of the electoral process. We will welcome an independent investigation of illegal forcing against peaceful meetings participants, ” the document states.

In addition, the declaration warned the Russian Federation against interfering in the internal affairs of Belarus.

The declaration was also signed by the head of the Estonian delegation Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, the Latvian delegation head Inese Libina-Egnere Lithuanian delegation head Algirdas Butkevicius, and Great Britain delegation head Roger Gale.

To recap, during the protests after the 9 August presidential election, more than 6,700 people were detained in Belarus. Numerous people were beaten, more than 250 were hospitalised, and two people died.

Natalia Tolub