MINSK, 13 July (BelTA) – The Liberal Democratic Party of Belarus (LDPB) will bring in a bill in the parliament on simplifying the granting of Belarusian citizenship to citizens of Ukraine, Baltic states, and Poland, BelTA learned from Oleg Gaidukevich, the party's chairman, a member of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus.
Oleg Gaidukevich said: “We've decided to suggest a bill on facilitating the acquisition of Belarusian citizenship for citizens of Ukraine, Baltic states, and Poland. We want to clearly differentiate between the governments of these countries, which pursue an anti-Belarusian and anti-European policy against their own citizens, and people, who sincerely care for Belarus, want to trade, communicate, and live with us. After persecution started over there, after the last remnants of freedom died over there, many of them come to Belarus and see what kind of a country it is. By the way, the visa-free travel program we've introduced has encouraged that. Many came to Belarus for the first time, particularly from Poland, the Baltic states and were surprised with what they saw. Many decided to stay to live here. They say that Belarus is an island of freedom. We heard about it a year or two ago during COVID-related restrictions when all the Europeans were locked in their homes. It is a way to control people. And they want to come to live here. Taking into account the huge number of requests for granting citizenship our party represented by me, represented by a member of the parliament and a deputy chairperson of the International Affairs Commission of the House of Representatives will bring in a bill on facilitating the acquisition of Belarusian citizenship for citizens of these countries.”
In his words, it will contribute to the advancement of relations between nations. “Because governments come and go while nations stay. We believe that it will once again demonstrate that Belarus is fighting for peace in Europe now. Moreover, we will never fall prey to this aggressive rhetoric and will not separate governments, officials, politicians, and ordinary people, who are truly innocent and just want to live a normal life and communicate with our nation,” the MP noted.
Oleg Gaidukevich mentioned the bill will be read during the autumn session of the parliament. “We will not tarry. Our commissions are working. Moreover, we will discuss this initiative at a session of the International Affairs Commission and will prepare the bill for the autumn session,” he added. “It is international practice. Simplified acquisition of citizenship exists and we will use this international experience, including Belarusian experience, in order not to make a tiring process out of it, on the one hand. On the other hand, no doubt we will incorporate security considerations into this bill so that unreliable elements could not exploit it.”
