On January 25, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Special Representative on Elections Alexander Shlyk and Representative for the Constitutional Reform and Parliamentary Cooperation Anatoli Liabedzka took part in the PACE closed hearings in Strasbourg. The hearings were also attended by representatives of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which specializes in the analysis of national legislation, as well as representatives of the regime.
The hearings were held to assess the constitutional reform in Belarus, hear representatives of the Belarusian society and the regime, and let the deputies of the Parliamentary Assembly ask their questions.
Anatoli Liabedzka handed out to the deputies a comparative analysis of the people's Constitution and the Lukashenka's draft: “These are two different worlds, two different countries, one for people to live in, the other for a group of officials and the military to rule while selling dictatorship as the main brand of Belarus”. In his address, Liabedzka:
- called upon the Venice Commission to make a conclusion on Lukashenka's draft and the draft Constitution of new Belarus before the start of the regime’s “referendum”;
- welcomed the creation of a joint group under the Council of Europe and PACE to monitor the situation in Belarus;
- encouraged PACE, as well as the OSCE PA and the European Parliament, to initiate consultations on the possibility of negotiations between democratic forces and the regime.
Key points from Liabedzka’s address:
“Akrestsina Detention Centre and SIZA KDB (informally Amerikanka) are two Belarusian prisons, I have been in both. Choosing between them leaves you no alternative. Instead, they are part of the same system of total humiliation of human dignity. Choosing between the constitution rewritten for Lukashenka in 1996 and his new draft does not leave you an alternative either.
The constitutional reform tailored by and for the regime does not solve a single problem or challenge, and does not satisfy a single request or expectation. It preserves the political crisis and increases the regime's dependence on the Kremlin. It strengthens Belarus' self-isolation from the civilized world. Moreover, there are grounds to assert that the constitutional reform in conjunction with the events around Ukraine may be part of a plan for the occupation of Belarus by Russian troops.
A few touches to the Constitution project for new Belarus. Its elaboration started back in March 2019. We undertook three readings of the project. According to the latest opinion poll, about 37% of the country's citizens know about our Constitution project. We involved more than 40 experts in the field of constitutional law from different European countries in the audit of our project. The Constitution project has been sent to almost 4 thousand officials and more than 100 bodies, institutions, and government structures”.
Anatoli Liabedzka was followed by Alexander Shlyk. Key points from his address:
“Just five weeks for holding a referendum – is this enough for technical preparation? I will answer as an election expert with more than ten years of experience observing and analyzing electoral processes. In normal circumstances, under democracy, it is not enough. Democracy means that the process is open, subject to public control, and involves competition of political parties. These elements are clearly missing in today’s Belarus. Staging a circus performance can be done in a week, especially if the show is well-rehearsed. And this is an actual show, nothing more.
The people of Belarus still demand change. The change they long for is not in the choice between two Lukashenka’s constitutions. It is in the release of political prisoners, the end of repressions, and new elections. At this “referendum”, we call on the people of Belarus to come to the polling stations and invalidate the ballots – this is a legitimate way to express a political opinion. It will also deprive Lukashenka of the opportunity to pretend that he “turned the page”.
What we are going to witness on February 27 will not be a referendum. It will be a farce, a circus performance. Everyone knows that. Including those organizing it and informing you about how everything went today and in the time following”.
Details of the hearings told by Anatoli Liabedzka:
“We can easily speak at such events because everything we say is true and supported by the facts. At the same time, [the regime representatives] have to blink the reality, deny the presence of political prisoners, and pretend that everyone is happy and satisfied with the regime.
The regime’s delegate, MP Andrei Savinykh, said that we do not represent the political opposition and called us foreign agents. In response to that, I reminded Savinykh that he was sitting in the room only because I, as a deputy of independence [in the 1990s], had voted for Belarus to be an independent state and not a country to be put at risk and threatened by people like him in the future.
Then he claimed that they had been working on the draft of their Constitution since 2020. Allegedly, an unthinkable number of meetings were held to discuss the draft Constitution. But the entire discussion on the draft had been going on for two years, while the draft was published only at the end of last year – how is that possible? It's just magic.
We had another spat with Russian deputy Slutsky. He said that Lukashenka has the overwhelming support of people in Belarus. In response, I asked him: if such support, why hold 1,000 political prisoners? Why put all opponents in jail? If everything is perfect, why shouldn't Slutsky initiate a trip of a PACE delegation to Minsk so that they can visit Belarusian prisons? Then I told about the arrest or incarceration conditions, mentioning that 15-20 people have to squeeze into 10 square meters. Finally, I offered Slutsky to ask his wife how she feels about the fact that more than a hundred Belarusian women in prisons are banned from having pads and have to tolerate blood flowing down their legs.
The main outcome of the hearings for us is that the Venice Commission announced a clear route map. By the day of the “referendum”, the Commission will give a brief assessment of two draft constitutions. In June, they will analyze the distribution of powers, assess the process of preparing the amendments, and provide a full analysis of the drafts. This will make it possible to have two waves of discussions within the country and among international organizations on Constitutional reform in Belarus. Therefore, on February 27, no page will be turned over”.
