Written declaration No. 433 | Doc. 12136 | 17 May 2010

Recent actions against the Polish minority in Belarus

Signatories: Mr Dariusz LIPIŃSKI, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Francis AGIUS, Malta, EPP/CD ; Mr Pedro AGRAMUNT, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Miguel ARIAS CAÑETE, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Ryszard BENDER, Poland, EDG ; Mr Agustín CONDE, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Andrzej CWIERZ, Poland, EDG ; Mr Mátyás EÖRSI, Hungary, ALDE ; Mr Joseph FALZON, Malta, EPP/CD ; Mr Marco GATTI, San Marino, EPP/CD ; Ms Gisèle GAUTIER, France, EPP/CD ; Mr Francis GRIGNON, France, EPP/CD ; Mr Stanisław HUSKOWSKI, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Stanisław KALEMBA, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Jan KAŹMIERCZAK, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Göran LINDBLAD, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Juan MOSCOSO DEL PRADO, Spain, SOC ; Mr Alejandro MUÑOZ-ALONSO, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Pasquale NESSA, Italy, EPP/CD ; Ms Fiamma NIRENSTEIN, Italy, EPP/CD ; Ms Mirosława NYKIEL, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Kent OLSSON, Sweden ; Mr Gabino PUCHE, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Lluís Maria de PUIG i OLIVE, Spain, SOC ; Ms Carmen QUINTANILLA, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Frédéric REISS, France, EPP/CD ; Ms Jadwiga ROTNICKA, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Giuseppe SARO, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Michał STULIGROSZ, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Oreste TOFANI, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Latchezar TOSHEV, Bulgaria, EPP/CD ; Mr Piotr WACH, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Michał WOJTCZAK, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Emanuelis ZINGERIS, Lithuania, EPP/CD

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

Recently the Belarus authorities have intensified repression against the members of the Polish minority in this country. An example of this is the action by the police against members of the Polish minority organisation who wanted to take part in the meeting of the Association of Poles in Belarus that was to take place in Iwieniec. Those who travelled by car were stopped for no apparent reason, their documents were checked and some of them were detained at the police station. The action was aimed at taking over the Polish House in Iwieniec that had hitherto been the seat of the Association of Poles.

The treatment of the Polish minority in Belarus can be taken as an indicator of the observation of the principles of democracy and human rights by the Belarus authorities. The recent events have evidenced that, despite a declared willingness, fundamental human rights are not respected in this country.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe asks the Committee of Ministers to take relevant measures to explain the circumstances of the events related to the attempt to take over the Polish House in Iwieniec and to draw the appropriate conclusions with regard to the Belarus authorities.