July 9, 2004
BELARUSIAN LAWMAKERS SIGN DECLARATION WITH OSCE TO PROMOTE FAIR ELECTIONS
The Belarusian delegation to a session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Edinburgh on 8 July signed a joint declaration with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Working Group on Belarus expressing its intention to contribute to making the October parliamentary election in Belarus meet OSCE standards for free and fair elections, RFE/RL's Belarusian Service reported. In particular, the Belarusian side agreed to give the opposition access to the state-controlled media. Uta Zapf, head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Working Group on Belarus, reportedly withdrew a strongly worded draft resolution condemning the antidemocratic practices of the Belarusian regime in order to find a compromise and sign the declaration. "It would be an exaggeration to say that I am optimistic [about the fulfillment of the declaration by Minsk]," Zapf told RFE/RL. "But I think that we should take advantage of any move, including when Belarusian parliamentarians take up the responsibility of guaranteeing elections in Belarus in line with OSCE standards."
OPPOSITION REMAINS SKEPTICAL
Vintsuk Vyachorka, leader of the opposition Belarusian Popular Front, told RFE/RL's Belarusian Service on 8 July that the declaration signed in Edinburgh is "yet another move in the political game " conducted by President Lukashenka's regime. "For the regime a declaration on paper is one thing, while practice is another," Vyachorka said. "Hardly anything will change after the return of the official delegation from Edinburgh." United Civic Party's deputy head Yaraslau Ramanchuk was no less skeptical about the signed declaration. "In the past 10 years Europeans have regretfully failed to understand Mr. Lukashenka and his attitude to political reforms in the country," Ramanchuk said. "When we saw how lawmakers voted down amendments to the Election Code, it became clear to us that there will be no improvement in the election situation. There are no legislative grounds for this."
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