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Center for European Policy Analysis, Freedom House come up with roadmap for catalyzing democratic change in Belarus

 

The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and Freedom House have come up with a joint report entitled, “Democratic Change in Belarus: A Framework for Action.”

The report, scheduled to be released in Washington on September 23, is based on the findings of the Belarus Working Group, a bipartisan and transatlantic gathering of leading scholars, analysts, practitioners, and issue experts tasked with identifying Western strategies for supporting Belarusian civil society and dealing with “Europe’s last dictatorship,” said the Freedom House press office.

The group’s recommendations provide for a roadmap for catalyzing democratic change in the country.

Among the recommendations is a two-pronged strategy for bringing about the change and laying the groundwork for the transition to a Belarus without Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

The ongoing political crackdown on Belarusian opposition groups, civil society organizations and independent media has coincided with the country’s worst economic crisis over the last two decades, the press office said.
In response to rising signs of public discontent, it said, the Lukashenka regime has maintained — and at times intensified — its harsh suppression of the opposition and moved to outlaw nearly all forms of public speech and peaceful assembly.

“These developments call for robust transatlantic policies that could help bring about real democratic change in Belarus,” CEPA President Wess Mitchell was quoted as saying.

“A brutal dictatorship on the doorstep of the EU is unacceptable and contrary to the decades-long vision of a Europe ‘whole, free, and at peace," said David Kramer, president of Freedom House. "Those around Lukashenka need to know that a brighter future lies ahead after he is gone. Unconditional release of all political prisoners, elimination of repressive security measures, support for independent media and civil society, respect for rule of law, and free and competitive elections are essential for Belarus to take its rightful position as a European nation-state.”