BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

23/06/2009

Belarus: Response by Press Secretary Andrei Popov to a media question over Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly resolution on Belarus

Question: How can the Foreign Ministry comment on the resolution on Belarus adopted today at the PACE session in Strasbourg?

Response: We do not have yet the finalized resolution but given the information we have, I would like to preliminary notice the following.

The discussion on the Belarusian issue at the session of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly and today's resolution reveal a gradual shift in this organization's approach towards co-operation with Belarus and a growing number of supporters in the PACE of mutually respectful and pragmatic dialogue with the country's authorities. In this regard, we note the call of the Assembly to the PACE Bureau to restore the special guest status for the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.

Unfortunately, upsetting is the fact the PACE continues laying down new preconditions, in particular, on introduction of capital punishment moratorium in Belarus.

As it was repeatedly stated, the Republic of Belarus views with understanding the position of the Council of Europe on death penalty. Necessary discussions and analysis are in progress in the Parliament of Belarus, national legal community, where, unarguably, both the position of the Council of Europe and the weighty opinion of Belarusian citizens expressed at the nationwide referendum on this issue are taken into account.

Moreover, as far as we know, in accordance with the Council of Europe founding documents, abolition of capital punishment or introduction of a moratorium on its application are preconditions for a country's accession to the Organization, but not for acquiring the special guest status.

Source:

http://www.isria.com/pages/23_June_2009_160.htm

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