The leaders of the European Union met today to discuss the situation in Belarus. They agreed that the presidential elections of 9 August were not credible and therefore the results announced by the country’s electoral authorities cannot be accepted. That is a good statement. But it is not enough. The leaders should have called for new elections to be held as soon as possible. They put a lot of emphasis on dialogue between the dictator and the opposition. That dialogue should be about the electoral process to be followed when organising new elections.
The
leaders have also expressed support to the possible role the OSCE (Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe) could play in Belarus. I found it a bit
strange as we all know that this Vienna-based entity is in a crisis mode. All its
key leadership positions are filled by officers-in-charge. They have no
political clout to facilitate any dialogue in Belarus.
In
the end, the most important thing the EU can do is to send a clear message to
Alexander Lukashenko that his legitimacy is not recognised and personal responsibility
for human rights violations will not be forgotten. Dictators love strong
messages. Brussels must realise it.
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