- Title: BELARUS-RIGHTS/PRISONERS Belarus leader pardons six jailed opposition figures
- Date: 23rd August 2015
- Summary: MINSK, BELARUS (AUGUST 22, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PEOPLE WAITING AT TRAIN STATION FOR BELARUS OPPOSITION LEADER AND FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE NIKOLAI STATKEVICH TO ARRIVE STATKEVICH WAVING TO CROWD, CROWD CHANTING "LONG LIVE BELARUS" MAN HUGGING STATKEVICH STATKEVICH PORTRAIT'S ON MAN'S T-SHIRT STATKEVICH HUGGING HIS WIFE (SOUNDBITE) (Belarussian) BELARUS OPPOSITION LEADER AND FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE NIKOLAI STATKEVICH, SAYING: "I didn't think that Lukashenko would dare to release me before elections...But maybe he didn't have enough money... Besides, everything went well for them (the authorities)... they've dealt very well with the elections. Today the opposition is in a stalemate. It cannot boycott (the poll) and it cannot support any of the candidates. And it is unclear what to do. That's why they've released me. They waited to see that no one would be able to collect 100,000 signatures, they (the opposition) demonstrated its weakness, there is no candidate to support, under these circumstances it was possible to release." BELARUSSIAN FLAG STATKEVICH AND HIS WIFE MARINA WITH FLOWERS WALKING TOWARDS CAR FOLLOWED BY SUPPORTERS CAMERAMAN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Belarussian) BELARUS OPPOSITION LEADER AND FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE NIKOLAI STATKEVICH, SAYING: "Together we will make this country normal and free. (PAUSES AS SUPPORTERS WHISTLE AND SHOUT) I expected to find a frightened country but here ... it's better than expected." CROWD OF SUPPORTERS STATKEVICH AND HIS WIFE LEAVING IN CAR
- Embargoed: 7th September 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Belarus
- Country: Belarus
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA3OQR47MOOK5KYGPQ05C9X3MFZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Belarussian President Aleksander Lukashenko has pardoned six jailed opposition figures, including Nikolai Statkevich who was imprisoned after running against him for the presidency in 2010, his administration said on Saturday (August 22).
Lukashenko, who has been in power in the ex-Soviet republic since 1994 and is running for a fifth consecutive term in an election in October, had been motivated by humane principles, his press service said.
Statkevich, 59, is the last to be released of about 10 politicians who were rounded up and detained after running against Lukashenko in an election in 2010 dubbed fraudulent by the West. Addressing his supporters gathered at a Minsk bus station to meet him, Statkevich blamed the opposition for disarray and inability to consolidate before the poll and said that the economic crisis forced Lukashenko to make concessions to the West and to release political prisoners.
"I didn't think that Lukashenko would dare to release me before elections... But maybe he didn't have enough money...Besides, everything went well for them (the authorities) ... they've dealt very well with the elections. Today the opposition is in a stalemate. It cannot boycott (the poll) and it cannot support any of the candidates. And it is unclear what to do. That's why they've released me. They waited to see that no one would be able to collect 100,000 signatures, they (the opposition) demonstrated its weakness, there is no candidate to support, under these circumstances it was possible to release," said Statkevich to a crowd of supporters and journalists after arriving in Minsk.
Statkevich was given a six-year jail sentence in May 2011 on a charge of organising mass street protests against Lukashenko's re-election at the time.
Over a hundred supporters some with flowers, others wearing T-shirts with Statkevich portrait on them, were chanting "Long Live Belarus" as the opposition leader and his wife walked towards the car.
"Together we will make this country normal and free. I expected to find a frightened country but here ... it's better than expected," said Statkevich to his supporters.
EU foreign affairs chiefs said the prisoner release marked "important progress towards the improvement of relations between the EU and Belarus".
Lukashenko, who a top U.S. diplomat once said ran Europe's last dictatorship, is largely ostracised by Western governments because of his intolerance towards political opposition.
Although Western sanctions are still in place, there have been small signs of a thaw this year, with Lukashenko distancing himself from the tough policies of Russia - his country's biggest ally - towards neighbouring Ukraine, and reviving contacts with European Union and U.S. officials.
The European Union is an important trade partner for Belarus and the two sides have been working for years on closer relations to remove trade barriers. Progress has stalled because of what the European Union sees as Belarus' lack of commitment to democracy and political and civil rights. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
