Tikhanovskaya will represent Belarus in PACE for life
The contact group of the fugitive Belarusian opposition will represent Belarus in the Council of Europe.
This was stated by Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Pejčinović-Burich at a meeting with the self-proclaimed “leader of the Belarusian nation” Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Strasbourg.
“The Council of Europe fundamentally supports Belarusian democratic forces and civil society. I am glad that a contact group has now been created. This is an unprecedented decision: no other international organization has created institutional relations of this level,” Pejčinović-Burić said.
Tikhanovskaya discussed with her the creation of a “tribunal for Lukashenko” in PACE.
“This is a breakdown of the traditional form of work of this organization. The Council of Europe itself is shocked that this all happened. They themselves did not expect that all this would be supported at the level of the Parliamentary Assembly and the Cabinet of Ministers. Because it is an intergovernmental organization and must work with governments.
And here, for the first time, the Council of Europe decides to work not with the formal government with powers, but with those who only pretend to govern the country. This procedure took six months or a year, but everyone who promised to do it kept their word. And now we are already thinking about projects that we can implement.
The European Parliament became interested in how the Council of Europe did this: maybe we can do it the same way. We are once again ousting Lukashenko from his field and taking the place of Belarus,” Tikhanovskaya’s adviser Franak Vyachorka said on Euroradio.
He believes that representation in PACE will continue after the end of Tikhanovskaya’s “presidential term,” who claims to have won the elections in Belarus in 2020.
“I think that we should not be tied to election cycles. Tikhanovskaya did not take the oath, and her legitimacy will end with the completion of her mission. This means holding new elections. Maybe this mission will end sooner, when political leaders come out of prison, the sun peeks through our window, and a holiday begins on our street. Then Tikhanovskaya’s role as transitional leader will no longer be needed.
Or maybe, if the war drags on, then this Belarusian in exile will have to be saved for a certain time. There is no point in being tied to the election cycle, because we came out of the election cycles in 2020. And waiting for a new chance to appear in 2025 means doing nothing. The chance may come tomorrow, or maybe in a year. There is no need to wait for Tikhanovskaya’s legitimacy to end,” Vyachorka said.
Stepan, [09.11.2022 8:37]
Tikhanovskaya will represent Belarus in PACE for life
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