Debate: The situation in Belarus after one year of protests and their violent repression
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Ylva Johansson
Language: EN

Last time Belarus was addressed in this EP plenary was on 8 June, after the Lukashenko regime forced a Ryanair flight between two EU capitals to land, in order to arrest a journalist and his companion. Less than two weeks later the Foreign Affairs Council adopted a robust package of sanctions against 78 individuals, eight entities and seven sectors of the economy.  One year after the fraudulent elections, the situation in Belarus remains dire. The Lukashenko regime continues its systematic efforts to silence all remaining independent voices in the country – independent press, human rights defenders and civil society at large.  Prominent representatives of the opposition to Lukashenko have been condemned to long prison sentences in political trials conducted behind closed doors. There are now more than 700 political prisoners in the country – a number that continues to increase. The oppression and persecution of the Belarusian people is utterly unacceptable. So what are we doing to respond to Lukashenko?  From the very outset, the EU provided a package of emergency assistance to the victims of repression and state violence and to independent media, and we supported the legitimate quest of the Belarusian people for rule of law and free and fair elections. We continue to work for justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators. We continue to raise the human rights situation in all relevant international fora, leading international reactions against Lukashenko’s brutal and illegal actions.  We also want to send a message of hope and assurance of our continued support to the people of Belarus. Therefore, we have published a plan for a EUR 3 billion economic and investment package in support of a democratic Belarus that we will activate if and when the country changes its current course.  The state-run instrumentalisation of migrants is another worrying example of Lukashenko’s blatant disregard of international norms. People and air routes are being sourced by the regime and imported to Belarus. This year we have seen already more than 6 000 irregular arrivals coming across the Belarus—EU border, compared to barely 150 last year. People originally from Iraq, but also from Congo, Cameroon, Syria.  Belarus is not on any known migration route from these countries. Belarus is not a country under migratory pressure. People normally seek asylum from Belarus, not in Belarus. The regime is using human beings in an unprecedented way to put pressure on the European Union and making a lot of money as well.  People come in trips organised by the state tourist company Centrkurort, stay in state-approved hotels, pay a deposit of many thousand dollars, which they never get back. They lure people to Minsk, who are then transported towards the border in unmarked minivans by men in unmarked uniforms.  Lukashenko’s desperation is evidence that sanctions are hurting. Each day reinforces the impression that these are frenetic steps from a regime that can see the tide of history turning.  His goal is to destabilise the European Union, but he has gravely miscalculated. Our response has been one of unity and solidarity and action, a response that has been noted both by global partners and our allies in Minsk. Our relentless outreach to partners is working. We are observing a sharp drop in irregular arrivals from Belarus in recent weeks.  HR/VP Borrell has been key in persuading Iraq to stop all flights from Baghdad to Minsk, and now we are reaching out to other countries of origin in Africa whose citizens are being misled and victimised by Lukashenko.  We must be firm against Lukashenko and we must be clear with partner countries. One predictable element is that the weather will take a turn for the worse. People should not put themselves at risk.  In direct response to these unprecedented actions, the action plan against migrant smuggling the Commission presented last week, called this new and serious development by its name: state-sponsored migrant smuggling. And we have proposed to the council to partially suspend the visa facilitation agreement for government officials from Belarus, while keeping the benefits of visa facilitation for the people of Belarus.  The EU has shown its full solidarity with our Member States. I visited Lithuania in August. We activated our agencies emergency assistance and the Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism. Lithuanian authorities have worked very well with European partners. I thank them for their transparency, their European approach.  And last week I visited Poland, where I discussed the provocations at the border with Interior Minister Kamiński and the recent tragic deaths at the borders. I learnt a lot about the situation and my main message is, and was, we must protect our shared borders with shared EU resources based on shared values.  We must stand firm and united towards Lukashenko, and we must do it in a way that shows that we, the European Union, are based on other values, on the rule of law and in full respect of the fundamental rights. We must protect our borders and our values. We agreed in Warsaw last week that a delegation from my services arriving tomorrow will visit Poland to continue discussions.  Dear Members, let me conclude by stressing that countering disinformation from the Lukashenko regime remains key. We need to keep strengthening communication and awareness-raising efforts in parallel to our support to the Belarusian democratic forces. The European Union stands by the Belarusian people now, and we will do so in the future.