Civil society demands that Ukrainian authorities stop economic cooperation with Belarus

In the evening of November 11, 2020, Belarus security forces ruthlessly killed 31-year-old Roman Bondarenko from Minsk in the yard of the house where he lived. An unarmed young man was killed only for his political position, like seven more protesters killed in previous months.

More than 20,000 people fell victim to reprisals over 97 days of protests against the rigged results of the presidential election They were brutally beaten during the crackdown on protests, maimed with bullets and grenades, abducted, brutally tortured, held in inhumane conditions, and even raped. Criminal cases have been fabricated against hundreds of dissenters. Hundreds of protesters have already been forced to leave the territory of Belarus under pressure and persecution.

None of the criminal case has been opened against the security forces who committed these crimes over four months. Belarusian authorities cynically spit on its commitments on human rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic and international legal acts ratified by it.

The Lukashenko’s regime needs money to commit such crimes against its own people. He receives them mainly from foreign contractors of Belarusian state-owned enterprises. Unfortunately, many Ukrainian state-owned and municipal institutions are among them. Thus, we all become accomplices of Lukashenko regime because of some unscrupulous Ukrainian officials.

The funds received from Ukrainian consumers of goods produced by Belarusian state-owned enterprises are spent on the use of firearms against unarmed protesters, mass abductions and torture, cold-blooded murder of the participants of peaceful actions, political repression and intimidation of society are all.  And we, Ukrainian taxpayers, do not want to finance crimes against the Belarusian people.

We believe that the continuation of economic cooperation with state-owned enterprises of the Republic of Belarus (which actually belong to Alexander Lukashenko, who usurped power in the country), cooperation with commercial enterprises affiliated with Lukashenko and his inner circle directly fund the anti-democratic and anti-humane actions of the regime.

If Ukraine declares its commitment to the values of democracy, if human rights are not meaningless for us, we must clearly realize the immorality and inadmissibility of any form of economic cooperation with the Lukashenko’s regime, who with obvious cynicism demonstratively destroys the best representatives of Belarusian society to preserve power. The economic benefits received from the Lukashenko’s regime are not worth the blood of Belarusian citizens, drawn by the savage security officers of the usurper.

We  urge the President of Ukraine, the Government and the Parliament of Ukraine to publicly condemn such actions of Alexander Lukashenko`s regime and to refrain from any form of economic cooperation with state-owned enterprises of the Republic of Belarus by adopting relevant regulations.

We  urge the President of Ukraine, the Government and the Parliament of Ukraine to  raise the issue of strengthening economic and political sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and all those, who provide assistance to this anti-human regime, at all international negotiating platforms available.

Charity Foundation East-SOS Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv Association UMDPL

Human Rights Center Postup

Non-governmental organization MART (NGO MART)

ZMINA Human Rights Centку

Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health (UFPH) HealthRight International Ukraine

Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union

Human Rights Vector NGO

No Borders Project

Center for Civic Education “Almenda”