2010-02-16 'The arrests of members of the civil society and democratic opposition are absolutely unacceptable'. EPP President Wilfried Martens and EPP Vice President Jacek Saryusz-Wolski denounced actions of the Belarusian authorities against the civil society and democratic opposition in Belarus. The President of the European People’s Party (EPP), Wilfried Martens, and the EPP Vice President Jacek Saryusz-Wolski denounced the actions Belarusian authorities against the civil society and democratic opposition in Belarus today. "The arrest of members of the civil society, democratic opposition, including activists of the Union of Poles in Belarus (UPB) and its democratically elected Chairwoman Angelika Borys, as well as the leader of EPP member-party United Civil Party of Belarus (UCP) - Anatol Lebedka, are acts absolutely unacceptable by the EPP" underlined President Martens and continued to say that "the EPP calls on the Belarusian authorities to immediately free all of the arrested activists and members of the democratic opposition." "The arrest of over 40 civil society and democratic opposition activists is a deliberate act aiming at prohibiting a fair and just course in today's trial concerning the Polish Community House in Iwieniec, as well as eliminating the Union of Poles in Belarus from the Belarusian political scene," added EPP Vice President Jacek Saryusz-Wolski. "Needless to say, these latest actions of Belarusian authorities raise serious concerns about the future relations between EU and Belarus," President Martens concluded. For more information: Kostas Sasmatzoglou, EPP Spokesman, Tel. +32-2-2854147 Javier Jiménez, EPP Press Officer, Tel: +32-475480446