European Parliament resolution on the political situation and the independence of the media in Belarus
Date: 2005-07-07
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Belarus, control of communications, freedom of expression, freedom of opinion, means of communication, pluralism in the media, political situation, political violence

6.7.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 157 E/465

Thursday 7 July 2005

— having regard to Article 95 in conjunction with the first sentence of the first subparagraph of Arti-

cle 300(2) of the EC Treaty,

— having regard to Article 300(3), first subparagraph, of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council

consulted Parliament (C6-0184/2005),

— having regard to the Opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs on the proposed legal basis,

— having regard to Rules 51, 83(7) and 35 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A6-0226/

2005),

A. whereas, from a procedural point of view:

— the approach adopted by the Commission and Council gives rise to the same reservations as those
expressed by Parliament in the PNR/USA case (Case C-317/04), despite the fact that, from a substantive
point of view, the negotiations with the Canadian authorities strike an acceptable balance between the
need for freedom and the need for security in a third country,

— an international agreement should contain all the essential elements binding the contracting parties and
whereas, in this specific case, both the guarantees required by the Commission ‘finding’ decision and the
corresponding commitments by the Canadian authorities should have formed part of the agreement
itself,

— the European Parliament has already challenged before the Court of Justice of the European Commun-
ities in Case C-317/04 the same ‘three tiers’ procedure in a similar case because the procedure is not
transparent and is not in conformity with the rule of law and the procedure by which Parliament gives
its assent to international agreements; pending the judgment of the Court, it would have been more
appropriate for the Commission to have submitted its proposal, and the Council to act, in accordance
with the procedure normally used for negotiating international agreements to be signed by the Com-
munity,

1.

Does not approve the conclusion of the agreement;

Instructs its President to call on the Council not to conclude the agreement until the Court of Justice

2.
has delivered its judgment in Case C-317/04;

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission, and the governments

3.
and parliaments of the Member States and Canada.

P6_TA(2005)0295

Political situation and independence of the media in Belarus

European Parliament resolution on the political situation and the independence of the media
in Belarus

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in Belarus,

— having regard, in particular, to its resolution of 10 March 2005 on Belarus (1),

— having regard to the resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the situ-
ation in Belarus and, in particular, to its resolution of 28 April 2004 on the persecution of the press in
the Republic of Belarus,

— having regard to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights' resolution of 14 April 2005 on

the situation of human rights in Belarus,

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0080.

C 157 E/466

Thursday 7 July 2005

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.7.2006

— having regard to the March 2005 report on Belarus of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the

Media,

— having regard, in particular, to the ‘EU action plan for promoting democracy in Belarus’ adopted by the

European Parliament's Delegation for relations with Belarus on 23 February 2005,

— having regard to its Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, which was awarded to the Belarussian

Association of Journalists in December 2004,

— having regard to the Communication from the Commission of 12 May 2004 on the European Neigh-

bourhood Policy (COM(2004)0373),

— having regard to the EU sanctions adopted on 2 July 2004 against Belarussian officials following the

disappearance of three Belarussian opposition leaders and one journalist,

— having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas, instead of improving, the situation in Belarus has further deteriorated, which has resulted in
basic human rights being brutally violated, the Lower House being deprived of its legislative rights and
economic life being controlled by the President; whereas such violations include the imprisonment of,
and other repressive measures against, members of the democratic opposition,

B. whereas the EU has repeatedly condemned the arrest of prominent opposition leaders by the Luk-
ashenko government and whereas no progress has been made in the unsolved cases of a number of
disappeared persons,

C. whereas over the past few years several political parties, 22 independent newspapers, more than
50 pro-democracy NGOs of different levels and varying political orientations, and several educational
establishments have been closed down for ‘technical’ reasons, but it is clear that in every case those
organisations were being punished for criticising the President and his policies,

D. whereas, in April 2005, the UN Commission on Human Rights criticised Belarus on account of per-
sistent reports of harassment and closure of NGOs, national minority organisations, independent media
outlets, opposition political parties,
independent trade unions and religious organisations, and har-
assment of individuals engaged in democratic activities, including in the independent media,

E. whereas all registration of new newspapers has been stopped by the State authorities, and many existing
newspapers have received heavy fines, which makes it impossible for them to continue publishing,

F. whereas politically motivated arrests and trials of activists of the democratic movement and indepen-
dent journalists, and deportations of foreign citizens, are continually taking place in Belarus; whereas
two journalists from the newspaper ‘Pahonia’ — Pavał Mažejka and Mikoła Markievič — as well as the
editor of the newspaper ‘Rabočy’, Viktar Ivaškievič, have been sentenced to between six and nine
months in prison,

G. whereas, on 12 May 2005, the leadership of the Union of Poles in Belarus were declared illegitimate by
the Belarussian Ministry of Justice, a printing plant under instructions from the government refused to
print the Polish weekly ‘Głos znad Niemna’ and fake issues were printed under the umbrella of the
government,

H. whereas in 2000 ORT correspondent Dźmitry Zavadski disappeared and the Belarussian authorities
appear to be dragging their feet in the investigation; whereas, on 20 October 2004, Vieranika Čarka-
sava, a journalist from the newspaper ‘Solidarność’, was murdered, and incidents of violence against
journalists are becoming more common,

I. whereas publishing and distribution have been monopolised by the State, and the remaining private
publishers face heavy fines if they publish independent newspapers; whereas, as a result, many indepen-
dent newspapers published abroad,
including in Russia, are often confiscated at the border by the
Belarussian authorities,

6.7.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 157 E/467

Thursday 7 July 2005

J. whereas all television and radio broadcasts, both national and regional, are in government hands, or are

controlled by the State,

K. whereas all cable operators are persecuted for transmitting the foreign channels not approved by the
Belarussian Government and on this basis Belarussian cable TV operators were banned from transmit-
ting all Ukrainian channels as well as the Polish channel Polonia,

L. whereas all internet connections are routed through a State-run corporation which has blocked numer-

ous accounts and www pages,

M. whereas,

in March 2005, the Representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, in a report on the Freedom of the Media, raised serious concerns regarding the grave situation
of the independent media in Belarus, in particular the declining number of registrations of independent
newspapers and the increasing pressure on the media through judicial, extrajudicial, and economic
means,

1.
Strongly condemns the Belarus regime's indiscriminate attacks on the media, journalists, members of
the opposition, human rights activists and any person who attempts freely to voice criticism of the President
and the regime, as evidenced by arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment of detainees, disappearances, politically-moti-
vated persecution and other acts of repression that flout the basic principles of democracy and the rule of
law;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to create a complex, multi-annual programme of support
2.
for the independent media in Belarus which will encompass support for the broadcasting of independent
radio and television programmes from abroad, as well as support for independent journalists and news-
papers;

3. Welcomes the project for the creation of a radio network broadcasting from Poland, Lithuania and
possibly Ukraine, and calls on the Commission to support its implementation;

4.
Calls on the Council and the Commission, in this regard, to provide the necessary assistance as soon
as possible to enable the broadcasting of independent radio programmes to Belarus from abroad to begin;

Emphasises that the radio network should be able to use all transmission bandwidths, including on the

5.
internet, and should be available on a continuous basis;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to assist journalists and their families who are the victims of

6.
repression;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to create a programme of scholarships and traineeships for

7.
independent journalists, and to create training programmes for young independent journalists;

Calls on the Commission to consult Parliament on the implementation of this programme for free and

8.
independent media and information to the people of Belarus;

9.
Should the Belarussian authorities fail to improve the situation regarding freedom of speech and the
mass media or if it deteriorated any further, the Commission, the Council and Parliament should initiate the
procedure to add more names to the visa-ban list of Belarussian authorities involved in persecution of the
mass media;

10.
Condemns the government's action against the Union of Poles in Belarus as an attempt to curb the
largest NGO and one of the few not controlled by the government; recalls that respect for minority rights
extends to freedom of association and the recognition of the elected statutory bodies of that organisation;
deplores the government's attempt to take control of ‘Głos znad Niemna’;

C 157 E/468

Thursday 7 July 2005

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.7.2006

Is in particular appalled by the recent sentencing to long terms of forced labour of Mikola Statkevič,
11.
the chairman of the Belarussian Social Democratic Party (‘Narodnaja Hramada’), Paval Seviarynec, one of the
Young Front leaders, and Andrei Klimau, a businessman and member of the 13th Supreme Soviet;

Calls on the Belarussian authorities to stop the expulsion of young democrats from universities and
12.
higher-education establishments, and declares its full support for those students who were expelled from
such establishments for promoting democratic values and defending human rights and who went on hunger
strike on 25 May 2005;

13. Welcomes the inauguration of the European Humanities University for Belarussian students in exile
in Vilnius, and calls on the Commission and Member States to assist the that University in the pursuit of its
teaching and research programmes;

Calls on the Member States to recognise the degrees awarded by the European Humanities University
14.
by way of confirmation of a high level of competence and outstanding academic skills, and calls on Euro-
pean universities to enter into a closer cooperation with it;

Emphasises once again that the further development of EU relations with Belarus will also continue
15.
to depend on the progress made towards democratisation and reform in the country and access for Bela-
russians to objective, free and transparent media;

Calls on the Council and the Commission to raise the issue of Belarus with the Russian authorities so

16.
as to define common action to bring about concrete democratic changes in that country;

17.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and
governments of the Member States, and the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of
Europe.

P6_TA(2005)0296

The Balkans: 10 years after Srebrenica

European Parliament resolution on Srebrenica

The European Parliament,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on Bosnia-Herzegovina and the western Balkans, in particular

that on the state of regional integration in the western Balkans adopted on 14 April 2005 (1),

— having regard to the Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) for the countries of the western
justice, reconciliation

Balkans initiated by the EU in 1999 in an effort to promote democratisation,
and peace in the region,

— having regard to the declaration of the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Thessaloniki of 21 June 2003
highlighting the European perspective of the western Balkan countries, which will become an integral
part of the EU once they meet the established criteria,

— having regard to the conclusions of the last European Council held in Brussels on 16 and 17 June 2005

reaffirming its commitment to full implementation of the Thessaloniki agenda,

— having regard to UN Security Council Resolutions 827 of 25 May 1993, 1244 of 10 June 1999, 1551

of 9 July 2004 and 1575 of 22 November 2004,

— having regard to the report by the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the

Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Carla del Ponte, to the UN Security Council on 13 June 2005,

— having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

(1) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0131.