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Stanislaw Bahdankevich opposes restoration of National Assembly`s Special Guest status in PACE

Stanislaw Bahdankevich, former head of the National Bank of Belarus and honorary chairman of the United Civic Party, met with reporters in Minsk on Thursday to share details of his recent visit to Strasbourg, BelaPAN said.

Together with Aleh Hulak, chairman of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Dr. Bahdankevich took part in a meeting held by the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on June 20 to discuss, among other issues, the situation in Belarus.

Dr. Bahdankevich said that he had met with PACE members to exchange opinions about Belarus’ ongoing economic crisis and the prospects for the resumption of PACE’s cooperation with the Belarusian National Assembly.

He said that he opposed the restoration of the Belarusian national legislature’s Special Guest status in the Assembly. “It could be considered if Belarusian citizens sitting in the National Assembly were personalities, well-known people taking at least some stance, even despite being given the seat by Lukashenka,” he noted. “But those who are sitting there did not raise even once issues concerning the persecution of the media, political opponents and beating of citizens.”

“It takes 15 minutes to pass a draft budget law, they are obedient and none of them ever votes against. It is not a parliament,” Dr. Bahdankevich stressed.