Inconsistent with official stance: Belarusian NGOs condemn Russia's annexation of Crimea
The Belarusian National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum issued an appeal “On the support of the UN Resolution on the territorial integrity of Ukraine”.
We, citizens of the Republic of Belarus, a broad spectrum of civil society organizations, political parties, trade unions, non-governmental organizations and initiatives condemn the official position of the Republic of Belarus to the UN General Assembly March 27, 2014 and support the resolution of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the appeal says.
According to the authors, voting against the resolution of the territorial integrity Ukraine official Belarus:
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entered into conflict with its earlier articulated position in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine,
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demonstrated its disrespect to international treaties,
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showed their contempt for the Ukrainian government and the people,
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recognized as legitimate the fact of capturing territory of one state by another one.
The Belarusian authorities have officially supported the position of Russia, making the Belarusian people a hostage of imperial ambitions of its leadership, activists warn.
‘We express our support to the UN General Assembly resolution on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, sharing fundamental principles of the UN Statute to respect the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the state. We condemn the actions of Russia in Ukraine, call Russian federation to withdraw troops from the territory of Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula,’ the appeal stresses.
For the full text of the appeal click here.
On March, 27 he U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution calling the Crimean referendum to secede from Ukraine invalid. The vote on the resolution was 100-11, with 58 countries abstaining. The 11 nations that voted against the resolution are: Armenia, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.
