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During the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and member of the Coordination Council delegation to PACE Pavel Latushka met with the Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe Mathieu Mori.
The Secretary General noted the active work of the Coordination Council delegation and said that the Congress plans to strengthen efforts to support released Belarusian political prisoners and repressed Belarusians. As an example of successful cooperation, he cited the Tuscany region in Italy, where support programmes are in place and communication has been established with Belarusian democratic forces.
Latushka also drew attention to the issue of elderly Belarusians who have been forced to leave the country being unable to receive their pensions. As one of the solutions, he proposed social support programmes at the level of local authorities.
Transnational repression by the Lukashenka regime was also discussed separately. The sides examined how local authorities can assist Belarusians facing persecution — in matters of legalisation, housing and social support at the municipal level. The Secretary General noted that the Coordination Council delegation can submit citizens’ appeals to the Congress to help address specific problems.
Latushka thanked the Congress Bureau for its decision to extend the participation of the Coordination Council delegation in its sessions for another two years and highly praised the initiative to prepare a special report, “The Role of Local and Regional Authorities in Supporting Belarusian Democratic Forces and Civil Society”. According to Latushka, this document will be important for expanding the opportunities of Belarusian civil society during a period of forced emigration, the Coordination Council press service reported.