BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
10/03/2008
Belarusian opposition leader to take part in European Parliament's Belarusian week
WARSAW. MARCH 10. INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE - A delegation of Belarusia's opposition will travel to Brussels to take part in Belarusian week in the European Parliament, Belarusian opposition leader Aleksandr Milinkevich told a press conference in Warsaw Monday.
"[During the visit] we want to inform of the [Belarusian] traditions of independence," Milinkevich said. "We are fighting for Belarus to become and remain an independent country [...] we want to direct attention to the breaking of human rights [in Belarus], we care very much for the Belarusian issue to turn into the loudest subject there [in Brussels]."
Milinkevich will head the Belarusian delegation during the Belarusian week celebrations in the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, March 11. European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering and European Commissioner for External Relations and EU Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner will also take part in the celebrations as speakers.
At present, Belarus is the only European country whose independence in uncertain, Milinkevich said.
Belarusia's opposition fears that Belarus may be merged into Russia, Milinkevich said. Belarus should not be perceived as a sphere of Russian influence, he added, as the country has a long tradition of statehood. Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev recently accepted Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's invitation to visit Belarus. Medvedev's visit to Belarus will be the first foreign trip he will make as newly- appointed Russian president, Milinkevich said.
Around 50-60% of Belarusians would like the situation in Belarus to change, Milinkevich said quoting unofficial statistics. At present he estimates his support at 10%, while Lukashenko's popular support stands at 39%. The opposition has no access to public media in the country, he said and this may be one of the reasons for the low support of specific candidates, as many people are not familiar with opposition politicians. EU representatives declared at the end of 2006 that the EU is ready to renew its relationship with Belarus under the European Neighborhood Policy if the country's authorities "demonstrate respect for democratic values and for the basic rights of the Belarusian people," according to a European Parliament website press release from end-February 2008.
Source:
http://www.interfax.com/5/372907/news.aspx
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