Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-09-14-Speech-2-038"
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"en.20040914.3.2-038"2
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"Belarus is a neighbour of Lithuania and the European Union and what happens in that country is important to us.
As we know, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, politically isolated by western states because of human rights violations and restrictions on media freedom, is using all means to attain a third presidential term in the elections for a head of state to be held in 2006. The question, which is to be presented in a referendum scheduled for 17 October, is formulated in very simple and clear terms for the citizens of Belarus: 'Will you allow the first President of the Republic, Alexander Lukashenko, to participate as a presidential candidate in the elections for a head of state?' Unquote. Lukashenko explains this to the people of Belarus in equally simple and understandable language. Quote: 'As I promised you before, if I decide to participate in the 2006 presidential elections, I will definitely consult you and ask for your permission - this is what I am doing now,' he said on Belorussian state television. Today, as previously in the European Parliament, many cases of human rights violations have been mentioned, along with evidence of restrictions on press freedom, and the banning of university and non-government organisations. However, the people of Belarus know little of our concern for their situation, their life. If they manage to reach Belarus, statements on this subject by leaders of the European Parliament and other institutions in the democratic world are distorted, they are presented to the citizens of Belarus as the will of global capitalism, as attempts to dictate to Belorussians how they should live.
Information which Belorussians find on the internet, to which they do have access, is less censored, however the level of computerisation in that country is poor, and so a large part of society is fed state propaganda. We must see that objective information reaches the citizens of Belarus via channels which they are accustomed to.
I propose: that in approving the European Union's budget for 2005, we must find funds to broadcast radio, perhaps also television programmes in Belorussian and Russian, which could be compiled with the help of Belorussian journalists [...] and could be broadcast from the neighbouring states - Lithuania and Poland - as was done until 2001. A few million Litai each year from the European Union's budget certainly will not bankrupt the European Union, but in my opinion, would be a more effective means of strengthening civil, democratic initiatives and traditions than sending a delegation from the European Parliament to observe the elections, carry out monitoring and record the de facto situation. Thank you for your attention."@en1
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