„A year ago, in August 2020, the citizens of Belarus hoped that they have the right to determine the future of their country in free elections. The Belarus’ authorities did not listen to their voices. Participants in the peaceful popular movement, unprecedented in recent history of the country, have been punished by imprisonment, exile or silencing. Hope has been replaced by fear and spreading repressions. We stand in solidarity with all the people of Belarus, who are restricted in their rights in their homeland,“ stands in the declaration.
The Heads of State added that since June, we have been facing hybrid attacks on the European Union’s and NATO’s eastern border. “Vulnerable citizens from third countries are being used to fuel illegal border crossings from Belarus. This is not a migrant crisis but a politically orchestrated hybrid operation by Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s regime to divert attention from the regime’s growing human and civil rights abuses. We condemn this unacceptable behavior. Futile pressure and reckless actions will not change our agreed policy on the crisis in Belarus,” the declaration states.
The Presidents stressed that their countries actively support all international initiatives aimed at tackling impunity in Belarus, adding that “In the spirit of the Helsinki Final Act, the people of Belarus must be given the freedom to choose their democratic future. The only way to end the political crisis is inclusive national dialogue leading to free and fair elections.”
The joint declaration can be found here: https://www.president.ee/en/meedia/statements/16749-joint-statement-of-the-presidents-of-estonia-latvia-lithuania-and-poland-on-belarus-23-august-2021-kyiv/index.html
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