Lebedko tells NGOs not to occupy two seats
Ahead of the visit of Euro MP to Minsk,the Belarusian political opposition has failed to agree who it would like to see as members of the delegation at Euronest
Some within the opposition believe NGOs should not participate, while others disagree.
On February 3, representatives of the three coalitions of the pro-democracy opposition -- United Pro-Democracy Forces, Belarusian Pro-Independence Bloc and the European Coalition -- tried to find common ground over who should represent Belarus at Euronest.
The consultations were attended by Siarhei Kaliakin, the leader of the Fair World party, Anatol Lebedko, the chairman of the United Civic Party, Anatol Lyaukovich, the chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada), Igar Lyaukou from the Party of the Belarusian Popular Front, Vital Rymasheuski, the chairman of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy, Mikola Statkevich, the chairman of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada) and Uladzimir Navasyad, the chairman of the organizing committee of the Party of Freedom and Progress.
Anatol Lebedko reckons that only political parties and the organizing committees of politiacl parties should be represented at Euronest and NGOs should be excluded in order to ensure fruitful work of the opposition and civil society in the framework of the Eastern Partnership. He says NGOs are already represented on the other platform of the Eastern Partnership -- the Civil Society Forum.
Anatol Lebedko: "I don't understand why NGOs are being built into a purely political platform. Representatives of political parties whowere basically deprived of deputy mandates in 2008 should be there. Why should NGOs seat on two chairs?"
The Fair World party also support this view, but the Party of the Belarusian Popular Front and the organizing committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy have objections.
Vital Rymasheuski (BCD): "The Belarusian Pro-Independence Bloc has the following common position. Both the major political forces and major NGOs like the Belarusian Association of Journalists and the Assembly of NGOs should be represented at Euronest".
We remind that representatives of the Movement for Freedom and the Belarusian Association of Journalists took part in the session of Eastern Partnership's Civil Society Forum on November 16-17, 2009 in Brussels.
Movement for Freedom's possible participation at Euronest is logical, because the organization also took an active part in the electoral process in 2008 and held a campaign titled "For Free and Fair Elections", says Yuras Hubarevich, a deputy chairman of Movement for Freedom.
The principal position of the United Civic Party is to first agree on the ctritreria of selection to form the delegation, says Anatol Lebedko. So far, the opposition has failed to fill in the 10 seats for Belarus at Euronest (even on condition that no single Belarus laewmaker is invited to Brussels.
The Eastern Partnership's Parliamentary Assembly (Euronest) is planned as a forum to monitor and analyze events associated with the Eastern Partnership. Apart from 10 representatives from Belarus, it will also comprise 60 members of the European Parliament and 10 lawmakers from each of the following countries: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
The founding session of Euronest is planned to take place on March 24, 2010.
