Strasbourg, 8 September 2005
STATEMENT
by Mr Bodgan KLICH,
Member of the European Parliament
on behalf of the Delegation for relations with Belarus
on
"The situation of the Polish minority in Belarus"
The steps taken by the government of President Lukashenka of Belarus against the Polish minority, and in particular against its organisation the Union of Poles in Belarus, are further evidence of the repressive nature of the Minsk regime. This problem is not simply one between Poland and Belarus but is an issue that must be faced by all of democratic Europe. The repressive policy is not merely directed against the Polish minority in Belarus but against all of the democratic opposition to the Lukashenka dictatorship. The European Parliament must be in the vanguard of the supporters of democracy in Belarus.
The European Parliament delegation for relations with Belarus therefore calls for the European Parliament to hold a plenary debate followed by a resolution on the situation of the Polish minority in Belarus at the earliest possible opportunity.