28/11/2008 Political Affairs and Democracy
"I very much welcome the decision of the Belarusian authorities to allow the printing of two independent newspapers – Narodnaya Volya and Nashe Niva – in Belarus and their distribution through the state network," the PACE rapporteur on Belarus Andrea Rigoni (Italy, ALDE) said today.
"This is another tangible sign that the Belarusian leadership has a clear understanding of Europe’s expectations and is prepared to respond to them with actions, along the lines indicated in a recent non-paper by the Belarusian authorities on how to improve EU-Belarus relations.
For their part, European organisations should give clear signs that they are prepared to support democratisation and political liberalisation in Belarus by relying on dialogue and a step-by-step approach. The European Union has already opted for this approach. The Council of Europe should do the same and I hope that my report, to be debated in 2009, will contribute to this."