The State Duma adopted a statement on condemnation of policy of double standards and prevention of violation of the right to peaceful assembly in Europe.
As it was noted in the document, mass demonstrations had recently been held in several European states, in particular in Germany and France. Citizens protested against the measures taken in connection with the spread of COVID-19 in those countries. The police officers badly treated the demonstrators. Water cannons and tear gas were used against the protesters.
“Using words of our Western colleagues, we can blame law enforcement officers for disproportionate use of force and brutality,” the statement said. “The authorities of Germany and France continue to angrily condemn the actions of the Belarusian police and justify the aggressive crowd. We can see that the authorities in Berlin and Paris are convinced that the same actions of law enforcement offices in European states were taken for democracy, and the same actions in Belarus were condemned.”
Members of the State Duma urge parliamentarians and governments of European states “to demonstrate their readiness to follow unified approaches to assessing similar events that take place in their states and in foreign states, as well as to fully respect the right to peaceful assembly.”
The statement is planned to be sent to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
