Cichanoŭskaja in the Netherlands: Belarus election to take place amid reprisals
Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja meeting with Prime Minister Dick Schoof in The Hague
January 14, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja met with Prime Minister Dick Schoof in The Hague yesterday to urge the Netherlands not to recognize the January 21-26 presidential election in Belarus.
Belarus lacks conditions for democratic elections, while reprisals are intensifying during the orchestrated election campaign, she told Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp at a separate meeting.
“It is essential that free, fair and democratic election takes place [in Belarus],” Veldkamp said on X, urging Minsk to release political prisoners and promising support to rights defenders and independent media outlets.
Cichanoŭskaja, who is on a three-day visit in the Netherlands, called for support of the victims of politically-motivated persecution in Belarus and for bringing officials to account for human rights abuses, her aide Franak Viačorka told Pozirk.
“Of course, we welcome the releases, but we must demand, first of all, ending the repression,” the politician told the Dutch Helsinki Committee, commenting on the pardons for about 220 political prisoners amid intensified reprisals in the run-up to the presidential election. “Without ending repression, it will be a vicious circle.”
Cichanoŭskaja’s visit also includes arrangements for a potential discussion of Belarus during the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague and at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers scheduled for January 26-27.
The politician argued that negotiators at eventual peace talks on Ukraine should demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from Belarus. She also discussed the legalization of Belarusians in the Netherlands, as many face difficulties following Minsk’s refusal to issue ID documents abroad.
Polish Senate marshal denounces Belarus' election as sham
January 9, Pozirk. Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, marshal of the Senate of Poland, has denounced Belarus' January 21-26 presidential election as a sham after meeting with Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja today in Warsaw. It is impossible to call the election free as long as …