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NL World Press Freedom Day: we reflect on journalists from Belarus
Image created by Libereco - Partnership for Human Rights Today is World Press Freedom Day. Today we stand in solidarity with all journalists, bloggers and bringers of free speech in Belarusian prisons. See some of their faces here, to remind us who we have to fight for every day. Image created by Libereco - Partnership [...]
Struggling despite repression: Belarusian social democrats portrayed in exhibition
Some 1,300 people are detained on political grounds in Belarus, in appalling conditions. Following the fraudulent elections and subsequent mass protests in 2020, repression against the country's democratic opposition has only intensified. The Lukashenka regime is directly following the lead of its eastern neighbour in the Kremlin, complicit in the brutal Russian invasion [...]
Research by FEPS: 'The case of Ukraine's candidacy to the EU'
In cooperation with the FMS, Amicus Europae, FJJ, Karl-Renner-Institut, FES Ukraine, and the Kalevi Sorsa Foundation, the European social democratic think tank Foundation of European Progressive Studies (FEPS) conducted a policy study on Ukraine's EU candidate membership. It concludes that social, progressive policies are crucial for Ukraine's development towards possible EU membership. The EU [...]
The ongoing blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh: "Western governments must set concrete ultimatums to Azerbaijan"
Destroyed military vehicle - On the road from Shushi to Karintak - Nagorno-Karabakh (Source: Flickr) Read the English version of this article here. The International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, has ordered Azerbaijan to ensure the free movement of people and goods to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region with immediate effect. It is a new chapter [...]
"How Putin chipped his teeth": Stories from the front in Ukraine
Of course, life at the front consists of a lot more than successful recaptures and deadly defeats making the news. Some soldiers told me - on the basis of anonymity - their experiences in short stories and anecdotes. These recollections are not glorious or heroic. They are stories about the actual circumstances of men and [...]
One year after the start of the invasion: life of Ukrainians in the Netherlands
Friday, February 24, marks one year since Russian President Putin announced the invasion of Ukraine. Due to the intense and sustained bombing and fighting, many Ukrainians have had to flee the country. About 90,000 Ukrainians have fled to the Netherlands. FMS interviewed Yana (29) - who lives with her family in Leusden - and [...]
Nikolai Statkevich: 'As a Belarusian, I am used to solitary confinement'
Military analyses from the penal camp Nikolai Statkevich is chairman of the Social Democratic Party 'Narodnaya Gromada' in Belarus. Under Alexander Lukashenko's regime, he had previously spent eight years in various prisons and camps because of his political activities. A few months before the 2020 presidential elections and subsequent mass protests, he was imprisoned in broad daylight [...]
A review of the "Building a Civic Platform" training with the SD Platform Armenia
From 25 to 27 November, the "Building a Civic Platform" training took place in Armenia with our partner SD Platform Armenia. Amidst an impressive mountainous setting, 15 participants were trained for three days on various political topics and skills. SD Platform Armenia The SD Platform has been doing important work for several years [...]
Demonstration for the release of Nobel laureate and all political prisoners in Belarus
Human rights defender Ales Bialiatski is one of three winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize. But since he has been imprisoned in Belarus since July 2021, others will have to receive his prize on his behalf. On 25 November, the day he was detained for 500 days, association of Belarusians in the Netherlands organised [...]
A faltering economy and political paralysis: Bulgaria in crisis
Photo: Election winner Boyko Borissov (GERB) in 2017 (Flickr) When the fourth elections in 18 months took place in Bulgaria on 2 October, confidence in a political turnaround in the country was already very low. The progressive Petkov government was voted out, and notorious former GERB party prime minister Boyko Borissov made his re-entry as the largest [...]
