Participants of the conference of the Alliance of parliamentary groups “For a Democratic Belarus”, Rome, March 7, 2025
On March 6-7, Rome hosted the second conference of the Alliance of parliamentary groups “For a Democratic Belarus” entitled “Rights and authoritarianisms – the case of Belarus”. During it, they discussed how to keep Belarus on the international agenda and how to counter Lukashenko’s role in Russia’s war against Ukraine, Radio Liberty reports.
The forum of the Alliance of parliamentary groups “For a Democratic Belarus” was attended by representatives of 17 parliaments of different countries, representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces, Belarusian experts and human rights activists, as well as representatives of the “people’s embassies”.
In her opening speech to the conference participants, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the democratic leader of Belarus, noted that they had gathered at an important moment in history, “when the fate of Europe and “the fate of democracy itself is being decided – first of all, on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
“If we are talking about security guarantees for Ukraine, a free Belarus – without Putin and Lukashenka – may be one of them,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
Following the conference, 30 parliamentarians representing groups of members of democratic Belarus from 17 countries signed the so-called Rome Declaration.
“This is a joint memorandum that talks about the release of political prisoners, pressure on Lukashenka, non-recognition of the Lukashenka’s regime, and support for the Belarusian independent media and the democratic community. It is important that this is recorded on paper, and then all parliamentarians will bring this document to their national parliaments or the European Parliament,” said adviser to Tsikhanouskaya Franak Vyachorka
