20/12/2010 Political Affairs and Democracy
Strasbourg, 20.12.2010 – The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) rapporteur for Belarus, Sinikka Hurskainen (Finland, SOC) has expressed her deep concern at yesterday’s episodes of violence on the streets of Minsk following the presidential elections on Sunday 19 December.
“I am particularly alarmed by reports that countless arrests have been made, also of several opposition leaders, including presidential candidates, activists and journalists, who appear to have been beaten by police,” she said.
Ms Hurskainen was in Minsk as a member of the election observation mission of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Despite specific improvements in the electoral legislation and during the electoral campaign, she regretted problems with the actual voting and counting process.
“As an election observer, I was given no chance to watch the vote counting. The ballots were quickly taken away by the members of the election commission and were not read aloud in front of us. After a while, we were just presented with the result,” she said.
The PACE rapporteur on Belarus urged both security forces and protesters to refrain from any further recourse to violence throughout the election and post-election process. She also called on the authorities to release anyone detained solely for the expression of their views regarding the outcome of the elections.
“All individuals and groups should be able to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, including when criticising the Belarusian authorities and the electoral process. I regret that these elections represent a missed opportunity for bringing Belarus closer to European values and principles,” she concluded.