US mission to OSCE about Lukashenka’s referendum: ‘International community holds no illusions’
On January 27, Michael Carpenter, US Ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, delivered a speech regarding the upcoming referendum in Belarus to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna.
The referendum on adopting amendments to the Constitution of Belarus is scheduled for February 27. The Belarusian democratic forces stress that Alyaksandr Lukashenka had no right to announce a referendum because he was illegitimate. The document provides for the transfer of huge powers to the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly and should provide Lukashenka with personal security guarantees in case he decides to step down as president.
“Let me make plain, however, the international community holds no illusions that the constitutional referendum can resolve the political crisis resulting from the 2020 fraudulent presidential election. Virtually all independent voices are being silenced, over 1,000 political prisoners remain behind bars, civil society organizations and independent media continue to be forcibly closed under alleged ‘extremism’ charges, and tens of thousands of Belarusian citizens have been driven into exile,” Carpenter said.
According to him, it is not possible to regard ‘a hastily proposed set of revisions to the constitution’ as a serious effort at much needed democratic progress and reform in light of the recent developments in Belarus. This constitutional reform process has failed to include people’s voices, the envoy warns. Due to the ongoing crackdown, independent human rights organisations under constant risk of severe reprisal will be largely unable to organize observation of the referendum, he believes.
Moreover, the US side is concerned about the lack of genuine public consultation and discussion on key elements of the revisions, including term limits for the presidency to be enacted only after Alyaksandr Lukashenka leaves office, and a proposed change to Belarus’s non-nuclear status and political neutrality.
“We call on the Belarusian authorities to unconditionally and without delay release all political prisoners and to end their campaign of repression. We further call on the Belarusian authorities to implement the recommendations of the independent expert mission under the Moscow Mechanism and take meaningful action to address the concerns raised under the Vienna Mechanism. Belarusian authorities should promptly enter into a facilitated, comprehensive, and genuine national dialogue with the democratic opposition and civil society, leading to new free and fair presidential elections under international observation, and taking into account ODIHR recommendations,” the statement reads.
The steps will set Belarus on the path to resolving the political crisis and respond to the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people, as a non-transparent referendum is neither a viable – nor a credible – path forward for Belarus, Michael Carpenter added.
