Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe President Tiny Kox during the CoE Summit in Reykjavik. He invited Ms. Tsikhanouskaya to speak at the PACE plenary session in June, which will feature a presentation of the report on the situation of Belarusian refugees.
The document estimates that 200 thousand to 500 thousand people have left Belarus after 2020 and face all kinds of restrictions. The report also gives practical recommendations on how to help Belarusians who find themselves in forced emigration. Its presentation should change the way foreign countries treat Belarusians in exile. The report was prepared by the Luxembourg colleague of the PACE involving the democratic forces of Belarus.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Tiny Kox also discussed the work of the Contact Group of the Council of Europe, which will hold a meeting on June 19, prior to the next PACE session. The group has facilitated several projects, which are already starting to work and focus on assistance to journalists, youth, and civil society. Tiny Kox praised the work of the Contact Group.
They also discussed the situation with the mass displacement of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories not only to Russia, but also to Belarus, and Lukashenka's involvement in it. They agreed to raise this issue at the next PACE sessions and include it in the report on Ukraine. This will help in bringing the Lukashenka regime to accountability in international courts.
The PACE President and Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also discussed steps to get Belarus to join the Council of Europe. “Cooperation with PACE and the Council of Europe is extremely important for Belarus”, said Tsikhanouskaya. – It may help reduce Belarus' dependence on Russia, increase democratic Belarus sovereignty, and protect the country from being absorbed by Russia. It's very important that the Council of Europe takes a proactive stance towards Belarusians”.
The parties agreed that representatives of Belarusan civil society and parties will participate in PACE sessions as observers. It will be a regular event; the first group of Belarusians has already attended a PACE session. This must enable more political forces to present Belarus’ position in the Council of Europe. The voices of Belarusians should be heard there, not those of the regime.
