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Byalyatski set to focus on defending civil and political rights

Ales Byalyatski confirmed on Wednesday that he would resume his work to defend human rights following his release from prison last week.

Speaking during an online questions-and-answers session hosted by Naviny.by, the chairman of the Vyasna Human Rights Center said, "We have plenty of work to do as major problems in Belarus that concern the preservation of statehood and independence, a developed economy, democracy and human rights have not been solved."

Mr. Byalyatski said that his work would focus on defending "civil and political rights in Belarus."

The activist said that he would monitor next year's presidential election as a human rights defender. "The process of elections involves mass violations of laws in our country and our task is to monitor these violations in order to attract the attention of the Belarusian authorities, our and international community, push for justice," he noted.

Mr. Byalyatski said that securing free and fair elections was key to the Belarusians' future life.

Commenting on disagreements between opposition forces over whether they should take part in elections, Mr. Byalyatski said, "On the one hand, elections as a procedure do not exist [in Belarus]. It makes no sense to take part in the show with the naive hope that you can secure some true figures in this election. But there may be some sense in viewing elections as an opportunity to get your message across to people."

The activist said that he did not expect the 2015 election to be free and fair. //BelaPAN