We are disappointed to learn about Minsk’s decision to make last Sunday’s election a farce and a parody of democracy, and using it to enforce harmful policy of subjecting the Belarusian People to the will of a narrow group in power. The Belarusian authorities are not in the least interested in improving the situation and their declarations of readiness to enter into dialogue, which they have been repeating over the past few months, turn out to be empty slogans. This is clearly evidenced by Belarus not allowing independent activists to take part in the elections, ignoring its own international commitments by failing to invite the ODIHR observers, and radical stepping up of repressions during the campaign, which resulted in the death of the fifth political prisoner.

Today’s Belarus is still extremely unfriendly towards its own citizens. The country’s authorities still keep several thousand political opponents in penal colonies, including representatives of the Polish national minority. Even the slightest signs of independence, including criticism of the authorities, lead to political trials in which citizens, arrested on absurd charges, are sentenced to many years of imprisonment. Prisoners are denied their fundamental rights, are held in appalling conditions and subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment.

Poland continues to call on the Minsk authorities to respect their international commitments, release and rehabilitate all political prisoners and undertake a large-scale internal institutional reform that will help transform Belarus into a free, democratic, and responsible European country that observes law and promotes the welfare of its citizens. The people of Belarus deserve that.