It is with great indignation that we note the pre-election and election abuses and the wave of police terror in Belarus. Fifteen years after the fall of the Soviet Empire, the anachronistic regime of Alexander Lukashenko has ostentatiously reminded the world about the relations that prevailed between those in power and their subjects in that epoch and the contempt with which the totalitarian authorities treated society in general, individuals and their rights.

We call upon international public opinion and state leaders to make the Belarusian authorities realize that times have changed, and that at the beginning of the XXI century there is no place in Europe for politicians using such methods. Alexander Lukashenko and the members of his regime should be punished in a way that is painful and apparent to the whole world. We appeal for sanctions to be imposed in the political and diplomatic spheres and in the field of international sport, as well as for the introduction of economic sanctions that will not directly threaten the interests of Belarusian people.

We appeal for all possible assistance – financial, organizational, academic and political – to be provided to the Belarusian democratic opposition and to the people being persecuted.

We are convinced that the manner in which the world reacts to the current situation in Belarus could in the future either discourage or encourage other authoritarian leaders to follow the same path. We can demonstrate to them that choosing to act with contempt for freedom and the rule of law is not a viable option.

Warsaw, 30 March 2006

On behalf of the members of the Helsinki Committee in Poland:

Teresa Bogucka, Halina Bortnowska Dąbrowska, Marek Edelman, Janusz Grzelak, Zbigniew Hołda, Jacek Kurczewski, Wojciech Maziarski, Michał Nawrocki, Marek Antoni Nowicki, Danuta Przywara, Andrzej Rzepliński and Stefan Starczewski

Danuta Przywara

see also: Helsinki Committee in Poland, members of the Helsinki Committee in Poland, the Helsinki Committee’s Declarations