Resolution presented by Young Social Democrats – Maladaya Hramada

Approved by the International Union of Socialist Youth World Council 2017, on March, 25th. 

The Republic of Belarus is a democratic, social state of law. Since Alexander Lukashenka accessed to the post of president of Belarus is in a situation unfolding plan for the elimination of the democratic principles and freedoms provided by the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus to the Belarusian people. With the referendums of 1996 and 2004 years, the president of Belarus has received the power to issue decrees and orders which are above the law by legal effect; to appoint ministers, Attorney General, Chairmen of the Constitutional Court and of the National Bank and other key positions in the Republic; to be re-elected for an unlimited number of times; personally supervise the executive authorities to ensure the vertical of power. Referendum results are not recognized by the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the European Union as illegal.

With the help of a rigid vertical of power at all levels of the elections are rigged with impunity. After the referendum of 1996, all of the elections in Belarus are not recognized by the international community as democratic and legal, as a result, the Parliament constitutes only pleasing power person.

Protests are brutally suppressed by the security forces. Political opponents and other leaders for a long time had been political prisoners, independent human rights centers recognize the existence of two political prisoners in Belarus even now.

Since the election of President Lukashenka, a lot of opposition newspapers have been closed, radio and TV stations stopped broadcasting news that covering an opposition point of view on the situation in the country. In 1999-2000 there were kidnappings and murders of Lukashenka’s main political opponents. KGB had begun to torture politically objectionable citizens and recruiting activists. The size of the police has increased by three times so that Belarus has become a leader in the world in the ratio of police officers to the number of population. In the country, there is an active trend of persecution of politically active citizens in all government and public institutions. Activists were fired from their jobs or excluded from the schools permanently. Lukashenka issues decrees and ordinances that prohibit the citizens to participate in peaceful street meetings without the permission of local authorities and to be a member of an unregistered organization, contrary to the Constitution and the ECHR, signed by Belarus.

The last urgent problem was Decree N.3 (2015) that enforce the unemployed to pay “the compensation of public expenditure” constituting at the moment more than 130% of the minimum wage. The decree also contradicts the Constitution of Belarus, international standards and cause massive protests in the country.

Due to corruption and backward economic policy of Lukashenka, Belarus at the moment is on the second place in the ranking of Europe’s poorest countries. It increases the risk of spontaneous revolution in the country.

In connection with the above, we demand:

1. Judge Lukashenka and his collaborators by the laws of the Republic;
2. Release the political prisoners;
3. Return the version of the Belarusian Constitution of 1994;
4. Repeal all the laws passed after the referendum of 1996;
5. Hold free democratic elections and democratic reforms in Belarus.