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EU will demand end to crackdown on unregistered organizations in Belarus, German leader says

The European Union (EU) will demand that the Belarusian authorities abolish the Criminal Code’s article that envisages punishment for acting on behalf of an unregistered organization, German leader Angela Merkel said at a meeting of the Board and the Executive Committee of the European Senior Citizens’ Union (ESCU) in Berlin on November 6.

Tatsyana Zyalko, leader of an unregistered association of Belarusian retirees, attended the event as an observer.

The German chancellor also promised that the European Union would consider easing Schengen visa procedures for Belarusian citizens, Ms. Zyalko said in an interview with BelaPAN.

Members of the ESCU leadership, many of whom are also members of the European Parliament, reportedly said at the meeting that they were following developments in Belarus, in particular the association’s failed attempt to obtain registration.

“It was a pleasant surprise for me to learn how much European colleagues know about the justice ministry’s refusal to register our association. I was happy that not a single representative of the European Senior Citizens’ Union was indifferent to our problem,” Ms. Zyalko said.

Called Our Generation, the association, which has members in Minsk and all regions but the Hrodna region, planned to defend retirees’ rights and push for a pension system reform.

Many of the group’s members were founders of another association of retirees called Stareyshyny (Elders), which was denied registration in 2005 and 2006. The Supreme Court upheld the registration denial.