List od Brytyjskiej
Prezydencji
|
Helena Miziniak
President
Union
of Polish Communities in
Europe
240 King Street
London
W60RF
|
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
European Union Directorate
King Charles Street
London
SW1A2AH
www.europe.gov.uk
5 October 2005
|
Dear Ms
Miziniak
Thank you for your letter of
5 August 2005 to the Prime Minister about the fate of the Polish community in
Belarus.
As a member of the Foreign Office European Union Directorate, I have
been asked to reply.
The UK Government shares your concern about developments in
Belarus
and fully condemns the actions taken by the
Government of Belarus against the Union of Poles. These actions are in
contempt of
Belarus's
international obligations. Such interference in the activities of an
independent organisation is totally unacceptable. Regrettably, these
actions are indicative of the broader situation in
Belarus, where we continue to see a downward trend in terms of the
behaviour of President Lukashenko and his regime. The situation in
Belarus is a concern for the entire European Union and something on which
we need to act.
As you may know, the
UK
as Presidency of the EU issued a
declaration on 2 August on behalf of the EU condemning the actions
of the Belarusian authorities. We believe these declarations are
important both in registering our concern about specific
developments in
Belarus and in focusing attention more widely on the nature of the regime.
Most recently, we issued a declaration on 5 October condemning the
harassment of the last independent daily newspaper in
Belarus,
Narodnaya Volya. However, we agree that we also need to take steps
beyond simply appealing for an end to repression. Accordingly, we
will be looking at how to take action forward during our Presidency
of the EU before the end of the year.
Yours sincerely
Lance Domm
European Union Directorate
Do góry 5
