The Kalinowski Forum ended its work in Vilnius. Anatoli Liabedzka, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Representative for the Constitutional Reform and Parliamentary Cooperation, explains the Forum outcomes for Belarus:
1. Groups for democratic Belarus will be formed in the national parliaments. Such groups had already been established in the parliaments of the USA, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Sweden. In the coming days, a group will be created in the Latvian Parliament. The formation of groups for democratic Belarus is currently being negotiated with the deputies of the Bundestag, the National Assembly of France, the parliaments of the Netherlands, Georgia, and Estonia. For thousands of Belarusians forced to leave Belarus and Ukraine, these groups are important as bodies defending their interests.
2. Cases of discrimination against Belarusians have been reported in several countries. The deputies who took part in the Forum agreed to use their authority to explain to colleagues, the media, and people in their countries that Belarusians stand against the regime and oppose its actions.
3. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe suspended all contacts with the regime. Still, the Lukashenka regime is still represented in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. At the same time, the EuroNest Parliamentary Assembly now has 10 empty chairs as we managed to bar the illegitimate deputies from there. Now, we are arranging for the representatives of democratic Belarus to take these seats.
4. We agreed with the MEPs to initiate work on a plan for preparing an agreement between the European Parliament and the democratic forces of Belarus. Drawing up such an instrument will enable us to resolve various issues Belarusians face. This concerns future financial support for the country, visa-free travel, and other issues.
All these efforts are deployed within the Anti-War Movement.
