17 July 2020
Strasbourg 15.08.2020: The Association of Schools of Political Studies of the Council of Europe (ASPS) today voiced outrage at last Sunday’s rigged election and subsequent savage repression of protests in Belarus.
The use of violence by the country’s authoritarian regime against its own citizens shows its contempt for human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
Calling for the release of all those detained during the election, the ASPS condemned the Lukashenko government’s attempts to silence opposition voices, undermine civil society and prevent the emergence of a new generation of democratic leaders.
The people of Belarus must have the right to free and fair democratic elections as well as respect for human rights which are at the heart of the work of the Council of Europe’s Schools of Political Studies, the ASPS said.
The ASPS groups 21 Schools in Europe and North Africa including the East European School of Political Studies which was established in Ukraine in 2007 and works for Belarus. It promotes the emergence and development of civil society in Belarus but most of its activities have to take place outside the country.
Jack Hanning
Secretary General of the ASPS jack.hanning@gmail.com
