Eastern Partnership summit condemns human rights abuse in Belarus

WARSAW (Itar-Tass) - Participants in the summit of the
initiative Eastern Partnership have condemned the situation in Belarus, as
follows from a declaration adopted on Friday following a meeting of the
heads of state and government of the EU countries, as well as the
presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and the prime minister
of Moldova.
The heads of state and government and representatives of the European
Union and countries participating in the program (except for Belarus)
expressed their deep concern over the situation with human rights, laws
and democratic standards in Belarus, condemned the continued violations of
the freedom of the press and encouraged the immediate release and
rehabilitation of political prisoners, an end to the suppression of civil
society and media and the beginning of a political dialogue with the
opposition, the declaration says.
The EU is also deeply concerned about reports that prisoners were
denied an opportunity to meet with their families and lawyers, as well as
representatives of the media, and were subjected to psychological and
physical pressure, the document says.
At the summit of the initiative Eastern Partnership there were held
several parallel meetings of its members with the Belarusian opposition.
The official delegation of Belarus on Friday refused to participate in the
summit.