On 25 August, the government decided to allocate 150,000 euros from the contingency fund to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in support of Belarusian civil society and the independent media.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide 52,800 euros to the Latvian Platform for Development Cooperation to provide legal assistance to victims of human rights violations in Belarus after the August 9 presidential elections, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Belarus.
€ 36,000 will go to the Marta Women’s Resource Center to provide psychological, practical, legal and medical assistance to victims of human rights abuses in Belarus after the elections, together with NGOs working in Belarus. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also conclude an agreement with “Marta” for the allocation of 9,500 euros to provide in-service training for psychologists to Belarusian specialists.
EUR 51,700 will be allocated to the Baltic Media Center of Excellence to provide financial support for the development of independent media in Belarus.
As noted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus. The discrepancy between the results of the elections reported by the authorities and the results of polls conducted by non-governmental organizations, as well as numerous violations during and before election day, including the arrest, intimidation and violence against civilians of candidates and activists, have led to widespread protests in Belarus.
The protests were suppressed by unjustified force between 9 and 13 August. Around 6,000 people were detained, and around 600 have complained about human rights abuses and ill-treatment during detention.
The ministry stressed that the public reaction on August 13 was supplemented by a strike that affected all major Belarusian companies. On August 17, the strike was joined by state television, which stopped broadcasting a previously prepared and approved program that censored widespread protests and reported massive demonstrations throughout Belarus. Strike organizing committees have been set up in several state-owned enterprises.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that non-violent protests continued. The authorities also continue to oppose peaceful protests. Mass arrests and violence have been replaced by selective detentions. During the protests, the independent media played an important role in gathering information, documenting the violations of the authorities and disseminating them.
Given that Belarus has ignored its commitment as a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to guarantee its citizens the right to express their views in free elections, and that Belarus is a member of the Eastern Partnership, Latvia and the European Union cannot fail to respond to demonstrable human rights and fundamental freedoms. violations of political freedoms, as well as unjustified and disproportionate violence by state authorities against its citizens, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out.
Both during the extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council on 14 August and during the extraordinary meeting of the European Council on 19 August, the leaders of the EU member states agreed on the need to ensure broad support for Belarusian civil society. The Ministry noted that the provision of operational support for the development of Belarusian civil society and independent media is in line with Latvia’s foreign policy goals and is a matter of national security.
LETA has already reported that protests in Belarus against the falsification of the August 9 presidential election and authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko continue. Thousands have been detained and several hundred injured in protests. Workers in many state-owned enterprises are on strike.
According to official results, Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, won 80.1% of the vote, while opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovska won 10.1%, but the opposition believes the election results are fake and Tikhanovska has won the election convincingly. European Union countries do not recognize election results.
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