Jan Czurylowicz: Estonia sets example for Europe

Tallinn, 08.02.06 – This week Jan Czurylowicz, the representative of the united opposition candidate Alexander Milinkevicz at the Belarusian presidential elections visited Estonia. He was particularly impressed with the level of interest from both politicians and NGO’s.

Czurylowicz pointed out that Estonia has been active in showing support to the democratization of Byelorussia. While there is a long tradition of cooperation on the NGO level, recently the Estonian parliament also formed a Belarusian support group.

Czurylowicz’s visit was organized by the Open Estonia Foundation. He met with Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, representatives from the media and NGOs. Also, Czurylowicz addressed the extended sitting of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs. The visit was part of Open Estonia Foundations long-term program to support democracy in nations covered under EU’s Eastern neighborhood policy and Byelorussia. The Foundation has also organized seminars and conferences, as well as trainings for the media and NGO’s. The Belarusian presidential elections are to take place on March 19 and the Open Estonia Foundation is preparing a delegation of 14 people for monitoring.


Additional Information:
Kelly Grossthal
Open Estonia Foundation
+372 631 3791
+372 533 123 00
kelly@oef.org.ee
www.oef.org.ee


Liisa Past
Media Director
Open Estonia Foundation
+372 631 3791
liisa@oef.org.ee  
www.oef.org.ee