Hearings “Chernobyl today,“ dedicated to the situation in Belarus, were held in the European Parliament on 17 April. Members of the working group on Belarusian affairs, representatives of the European Commission, and delegations of democratic forces and civil society in Belarus took part in the hearing. The Charter’97 press center talks about the hearing in Brussels with Mikhail Marynich, former political prisoner and member of the organising committee of the civil campaign “European Belarus.”

On April 15 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe approved the resolution which among other things calls upon Belarus to reverse Article of the Criminal Code which envisages accountability for activities on behalf of an unregistered organization. Cyprus MP Christos Pourgourides, who has prepared a report on abuse of the criminal justice system in Belarus for the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on has answered questions of Radio Svaboda.

“Belarus takes a back seat in the European history, it didn’t understand that neither nuclear Russia nor average by European standards Belarus won’t be able to build relations with the West on their conditions,” Andrei Sannikov, international coordinator of Charter’97 thinks.

The decision of the German political NGO "Friedrich Ebert Foundation" to initiate the closure of its Office in Belarus is not evidence of the refusal of Germany to continue with its policy of engagement with Belarus says Ambassador Gebhardt Weiss. The diplomat pointed out that the decision to close the Office was made in connection with certain difficulties regarding the activities of the Office, however he considers that there is potential for a positive resolution of these issues.

“Belarusian authorities will have no concessions, unless violating of human rights is stopped in the country. It’s not enough for Lukashenka to release some political prisoners, bargaining with us,” MEP Elisabeth Schroedter said in the interview to Deutsche Welle about the resolution on Belarus adopted on 21 February.

Mireille Musso, the French ambassador to Belarus, said that the European Union hopes that the year 2008 will see Belarus making progress on democratic reform. "Both President Lukashenka and the government of the country wish the development of the independent Belarusian state and closer relations with the European Union," the ambassador said at a news conference in Minsk on Monday. "We think that these efforts to develop and modernize the state are very encouraging. The EU is ready to assist Belarus in democratization, the strengthening of independence and the modernization of the state."

Mr. Lukashenka reportedly noted what he called the ambassador’s positive attitude toward Belarus.

There is a chance that the new year could bring a breakthrough even in the spheres, where we have some misunderstanding. Mr. Gebhardt Weiss, the German ambassador to Belarus expressed this opinion during an interview with BELTA.