Friends of Belarus group in Sweden’s parliament unites MPs across political divide

December 7, BPN. The Friends of Belarus group in the new Swedish parliament includes over 35 MPs from all eight factions, Sviatłana Cichanoŭskaja’s foreign policy adviser Franak Viačorka told BPN.

The group has developed a plan to help political prisoners, hold hearings in parliament, and pressure the regime, he added.

The Belarusian opposition leader visited Sweden on December 5 and 6, meeting with Riksdag MPs, faction leaders, and Deputy Speaker Julia Kronlid. She discussed support for Belarusians and urged the Riksdag to play a more active role for Belarus.

She also discussed possible sanctions against Belarus’ propaganda media workers, judges and prosecutors responsible for human rights abuses.

Cichanoŭskaja also met with the head of the Swedish delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) to discuss efforts to put an end to the politically motivated crackdown in Belarus and prevent the country from joining Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Margareta Cederfelt, president of the OSCE PA, invited Cichanoŭsksja to address a meeting of the Assembly’s Third General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions in February.

Viačorka noted that the OSCE PA was the only platform to host a sort of dialogue between Cichanoŭsksja and Belarusian MP Andrej Savinych in 2020. The latter portrayed opposition politicians as terrorists, but the OSCE PA has a “fairly principled position,” Viačorka noted.