Conferences and Briefings on Belarus

We, the representatives of Belarusian civil society united under the National platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum,

Consider savage crackdown of the peaceful protest action that took place on December 19, 2010 at the Independence Square in Minsk and further numerous repressions, arrests   followed after that as roughest violation of human rights and democracy principles.

The violent crackdown on the post-election protests in Minsk on 19 December, 2010 came as a symbolic ‘closing’ of the brief period of relative liberalisation, which Belarus enjoyed since 2008. Independent accounts provide information suggesting that violent break into a government building was staged by security forces and used by riot police to arrest and beat hundreds of people. President Lukashenka publicly declared his responsibility for treating protesters in a brutal manner and announced the end of ‘senseless democracy,’ showing his indifference to the ‘European structures.’

On 25 November 2010, we, the undersigned non-governmental organisations, launched a coalition for a European continent undivided by visa barriers. The coalition will contribute to policy processes leading as quickly as possible towards this goal.

The Eastern Partnership initiative has set a new trend in the EU policy of good neighborhood (ENP). The purposes of rapprochement of Eastern neighbors with the EU space assume a pro-active campaign of the EU in its foreign policy. The Eastern Partnership is to give a new impulse to processes of European transformation in the countries, to accelerate processes of desovetization of some nations, to stimulate processes of national building, formation of a national identity and self-esteem of societies of the countries of the Eastern Partnership, and to provide a possibility of integration with the space of the European Union by developing stable democratic structures and strengthening the role of civil society. A more active position of the EU does not cancel the fact that the driving forces of the initiative should come from the countries of the Eastern Partnership, namely from their pro-European-focused reformist governments and civil society.

The Office for a Democratic Belarus (Brussels), the Centre for European Policy Studies ((CEPS), Brussels), and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (European Office, Brussels) kindly invite you to attend a round-table ‘Belarus after the Election: Revolution, Reform, or Stagnation?’

24 November 2010, 14.00

 Venue: 1 Place du Congres, 1000 Brussels

Belarus looks as interesting as ever before the upcoming presidential election. Russia is actively pursuing what appears to be a regime change policy for many Belarus watchers. Moscow declares it is not willing to bargain its principles. The EU has renewed the visa sanctions against some Belarusian government officials but also suspended them again. Moreover, Brussels has drafted a joined action plan with Belarus despite the lack of a legal framework for bilateral cooperation. Brussels says it is not willing to bargain its values. Are the two mighty neighbours neutralising each other giving yet another chance to Aliaksandr Lukashenka?

JOINT ADDRESS
of the Belarusian third sector representatives - the participants of the National platform of the Eastern Partnership  Civil Society Forum - to the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Mr. Štefan Fühle
Minsk, 15 November 2010

Statement

by representatives of civil society groups in Belarus
members of the National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
on current development of the dialogue between the government of Belarus and civil society organisations

Minsk, 26 October 2010

In its statement of 25 October, the Council of the European Union underlined the importance of enhanced contacts between people and expressed its interest  in receiving the European Commission's proposals for the negotiating directives for visa facilitation and readmission agreements withBelarus.

On 5-6 July, 2010 a Conference of the National Forum of Belarus’ civil society was held. The National Forum is an important part in the overall mechanism of civil society participation in the Eastern Partnership initiative. It has been designed to bring together and consolidate civil society positions at the national level, to elaborate the general strategy for the participation of Belarusian civil society representatives in the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (CSF) and to advance substantive proposals on taking this initiative further.
Additionally, the National Forum is entitled to recommend organizations for participation in the general Civil Society Forum to be convened on 18-19 November, 2010 in Berlin. Belarus has become the second after Armenia member-country of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) that has shaped a relevant national platform for civil society.