A Belarusian activist has called on the European Union to participate in dialogue between Belarusian civil society and the country’s authorities.

Halina Yubko, a representative of a group of more than 80 Belarusian women protesting court rulings in their own civil cases or convictions of their relatives, made the call while speaking at last week’s session of the Council of Europe’s Conference of International Non-governmental Organizations in Strasbourg.

In an interview with BelaPAN, Ms. Yubko said that she had spoken about Belarusian civil society’s failure to establish dialogue with authorities. “That’s why we believe that the European Union’s organization should act as intermediaries in this dialogue, which is vital to both parties,” she said.

Ms. Yubko noted that opposition political parties should expand contacts with civil society and contribute to its development more actively. “Otherwise, the Belarusian opposition will lose touch with the public and will not be able to reflect its interests,” she said.

The group has worked for two years to draw the Belarusian government’s attention to flaws in the country’s justice system.

Ms. Yubko, a resident of Minsk, is seeking moral damages from an official of the Presidential Administration for alleged slander.

Human rights defender Tamara Syarhey warned that the group would take the cases to international organizations if the Belarusian authorities ignored them.

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