On 8th December, Liberal International (LI) hosted a webinar focusing on the latest developments of the human rights situations in Belarus and Russia and discussing the role of the international community in supporting those fighting for civil rights and freedoms in the countries. The webinar also focused on the role and influence of Vladimir Putin’s regime over Belarus.
The session was moderated by the LI Human Rights Committee chairperson Astrid Thors, and the panellists included independent commentary by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus Anaïs Marin, Belarusian human rights activist and journalist Olga Karatch, and Russian economist, politician and the founder of Yabloko (LI full member) Grigory Yavlinsky.
In an engaging discussion, the panellists presented their knowledge and views of the latest developments taking place. Special Rapporteur Anaïs Marin noted how the situation in Belarus over the past 18 months has gone from bad to worse, withLukashenko’s regime being deaf to all calls from the international community. The national legislation is being weaponised to crackdown on dissent and punish anyone criticizing the government, and it is estimated that there are more than 900 political prisoners currently in the country.
“More than 300 civil society organisations have been liquidated over the last six months, which amounts to an outright attempt to purge civil society” – Anaïs Marin, UN Special Rapporteur
Russian economist and founder of the democratic party Yabloko (LI Full Member) highlighted the urgent need to secure the release of all political prisoners in Belarus, and noted that that should be the first priority and an absolute condition in any negotiations with Lukashenko.
“900 political prisoners in a country of the size of Belarus is unbelievable and unacceptable. All power and strength should be concentrated on securing the release of these prisoners” – Grigory Yavlinsky, Russian economist and politician
Belarusian civil society activist and journalist Olga Karatch brought up the conditions in Belarusian detention centres, where prisoners are being tortured, subjected to forced labour, and even purposely infected with COVID-19 as persons who have tested positive are placed in cells together with the rest and denied access to medical care.
Karatch also called attention to the influence Russia has over the situation in the country and noted that there is no longer reason to only talk about what Lukashenko is doing, but rather a need to focus on what Putin and Lukashenko are doing together.
“About a possible annexation of Belarus by the Kremlin: It’s currently going on” – Olga Karatch, human rights activist and journalist
Emphasising that the Belarusians want to be a part of Europe rather than gliding towards Russia, Karatch called on the EU to collaborate with both Belarusian civil society and democratic forces in Russia to provide a roadmap and a future vision of Belarus as an independent democratic European state.
The webinar will be available upon request, please contact office@liberal-international.org to request access.
Liberal International’s new webinar series focusing on the shrinking democratic space in different regions around the world. The webinar series aims to shed light on the latest moves by authoritarian regimes to suppress dissents and discuss the role of the international community in supporting democracy and human rights. Most importantly, the webinars will amplify the voices of key opposition defenders of democracy and human rights in regimes where they are being silenced.
