BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/10/2007

Roundtable talks with Belarus

Belarussian MPs and opposition parties discussed climate change with politicians from the Nordic Council and Baltic Assembly in Vilnius, Lithuania, 8-9 October. Voices were raised a few times, but the talks remained constructive and the President of the Nordic Council, Dagfinn Hoybraaten, hopes to repeat the success in 2008.

"It has been one of the most meaningful meetings I have ever attended in a Nordic context. The participants were open. We discussed major questions, for which there are no easy answers. Open democracy is the best way to achieve popular support. let us meet again, perhaps early in 2008. Or, to quote a Chinese proverb: We met once and get to know each other. We meet again and become friends."

It will no doubt take more than that to make the governing party and the opposition parties in Belarus friends. Too many of the opposition have been imprisoned or subjected to other forms of harassment. However, at least both parties agreed that it is useful to exchange information, ideas and experiences with Nordic and Baltic politicians.

Climate change may have been the theme of the seminar, but nuclear power generated the most debate. Belarus has traumatic experiences of the Tjernobyl disaster, but the government in Minsk is now prepared to build a new nuclear power plant. The Nordic countries were able to relate their very different views on nuclear power. Ole Stavad talked about popular Danish opposition - bolstered by the very same Tjernobyl disaster. The opposition led to politicians investing in alternative sources of energy such as windmills instead. In Finland, there is on the other hand, a majority in favour of building more nuclear plants, while Sweden has agreed in principle to phase out nuclear power. Siv Fridleifsdottir of Iceland told the Belarussian politicians that no other issues have generated as much Nordic debate as nuclear power and whaling.

Ole Stavad talked about the 2009 Climate Summit in Copenhagen.

"It won't just be a summit for ministers, it will also be a summit of the people, so Nordic bodies will seek to bring together NGOs from all over the world. Climate change, energy and the environment are far too important to leave them to the politicians."

Source:

http://www.norden.org/webb/news/news.asp?id=7208&lang=6