Opposition leader asks German MPs to increase pressure on Łukašenka

April 24, BPN. Germany should increase assistance to the Belarusian civil society and intensify pressure on Alaksandr Łukašenka’s regime, Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has told German MPs. 

The crackdown on regime critics is worse than it was at the peak of the 2020 protests and “support is needed in Belarus now as much as ever,” she said at the meeting with the Democratic Belarus parliamentary group at the Bundestag.

Belarusian human rights groups listed some 1,500 people as political prisoners, but their real number may be as high as 5,000. Many of them are held in complete isolation from the outside world, Cichanoŭskaja noted.

“For three weeks already, I have not heard anything from my husband Siarhiej Cichanoŭski and his new lawyer is not allowed to see him,” she said, noting the ongoing persecution of defense lawyers who risk ending up in jail themselves.

The state-run media are trying to promote Russian nuclear plans in Belarus yet the absolute majority of Belarusians oppose this idea, the politician noted. “The deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus will create an imminent threat to all neighbors and will be a huge hit on Belarus sovereignty,” she said.

“We should keep a focus on Łukašenka’s crimes in the same way that we speak about Putin,” Cichanoŭskaja said noting the need for accountability mechanisms and sanctions enforcement.

German MPs could play an important role in the international parliamentary Alliance for Democratic Belarus uniting MPs from 17 countries, she added. 

Germany and Belarusian pro-democracy forces could also formalize their relationship following the example of the United States which plans to launch a strategic dialogue with the Belarusian opposition and civil society in late 2023, Cichanoŭskaja said.