Human rights in Belarus condemned

EU LEADERS have condemned Belarus for its “deteriorating” human rights record, amid growing calls to step up sanctions against the former Soviet republic.

An empty Belarussian seat dominated a two-day summit in Warsaw devoted to the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative.

Belarus boycotted the biannual talks after its autocratic president Aleksander Lukashenko was not invited. He refused to send his foreign minister and the Belarussian ambassador to Poland was not admitted to talks, prompting claims of “discrimination” from Minsk.

“Our message for Belarus is clear: there are chances for significant help to modernise but this can only be offered to a democratic state,” said prime minister Donald Tusk of Poland, which holds the EU presidency.

Given the struggling Belarussian economy – the government needs $3 billion by year’s end to prop up public finances – Mr Tusk expressed confidence that “international aid will be indispensable”.

German chancellor Angela Merkel led a call for tougher EU sanctions, saying she was “not very optimistic” after talks with Belarussian opposition members in Warsaw.

“The regime’s treatment of the opposition is absolutely unacceptable,” said Dr Merkel.

“We’re considering how we can best support them. We’re not seeing much in the way of democratisation at present.”

EU leaders vowed to complete association talks with Ukraine by the end of the year, a final step before opening accession talks, despite concerns over the upcoming trial of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a leader of the Orange Revolution.

Several EU leaders held talks with Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to express their concern about her fate, and a perceived selective use of judicial procedures against members of past governments.

“The leaders made perfectly clear that joining the EU or establishing a closer association brings with it responsibilities,” said Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

The Eastern Partnership, part of the EU neighbourhood policy, was launched in 2009 on a Polish and Swedish initiative and offers six EU eastern neighbours €1.9 billion in funding to assist with infrastructure and administrative reform.

After yesterday’s talks, leaders announced they had commenced talks for visa-free regimes with Ukraine and Moldova. They proposed “deeper gradual economic integration” into the European internal market and greater support for civil society and social and economic development.

In a declaration, they acknowledged the aspiration of these countries to join the EU but said enlargement was not a realistic prospect at present.

EU leaders issued a separate declaration condemning Belarus for its “deteriorating” record on human rights and rule of law.

In Britain, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg was handed a petition with 1,000 signatures, including that of playwright Tom Stoppard, calling Belarus “one of the world’s least free countries”.

“Ranked worse than Iran on press freedom, worse than Zimbabwe on human rights, opposition activists have ‘disappeared’ or died in disputed circumstances and youth leaders subjected to mock executions,” the petition continued.

“Tens of thousands of its citizens have been denied permission to leave the country and European leaders like Silvio Berlusconi . . . turn a blind eye to the regime’s worst abuses in the interests of business.”