BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

03 February 2006

EU Officials Assert Importance of Accord with U.S. on Belarus

U.S. congressional hearing examines March 19 Belarusian presidential elections

By Jeffrey Thomas

Washington File Staff Writer

Washington - Officials from the European Union told a congressional hearing in Washington February 1 that it is essential the United States and Europe unite in responding to developments in Belarus before, during and after its March 19 presidential election.

The situation in Belarus is "grim" and the ability to choose the country's political leadership freely is "nonexistent," said Aldis Kuskis, a member of the European Parliament from Latvia who serves as vice chairman of the EU Parliamentary Delegation for Relations with Belarus.

The U.S. ambassador to Belarus, George Krol, similarly has characterized the prospects for a free and fair election in Belarus as "dismal." (See related article.)

Kuskis told the hearing that Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko "and his cronies have increased their manipulations of the Belarusian political system and the intimidation of the opposition as the elections grow closer."

As evidence of Lukashenko's determination to crush all opposition, he cited the imprisonment of Mikhail Marynich, the opposition candidate in the 2001 presidential elections, on "dubious" charges of theft, and the imprisonment of Valery Levaneusky and Aliaksandr Vasilieu, the chairman and vice chairman of the ""Free Belarus" movement, on charges of publicly having insulted the president.

Kuskis also cited the suspicious deaths and disappearances of prominent opposition figures and journalists, including Anatoly Krasovki, Yuri Zakharenko, Viktor Gonchar and Dmitry Zavadsky.

"The efforts of Europe, the United States and the whole international community must be coordinated when standing up for freedom in Belarus," Kuskis said.

Urging a joint U.S.-European Union parliamentary position, he said the goal "should be to ensure the Belarusian issue is at the forefront of both European and global agendas."

Kuskis is proposing on behalf of the European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Belarus "concrete steps that should be taken before the elections, during the elections and after the elections."

Among the steps being contemplated is "a joint [U.S.-EU] political statement condemning human rights violations in Belarus and expressing our joint demand for free and fair parliamentary elections in March 2006," he said.

The chances of a free and fair election in Belarus are "slim," Kuskis said. "If during the elections we see that not only human rights and freedoms have been sacrificed but also human lives, we should take joint efforts to remove Belarus from the [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] and bring Lukashenko to the [European] Court of Justice," he said.

BELARUS' CONTINUING CAMPAIGN AGAINST INDEPENDENT MEDIA

Another witness at the hearing, Barbara Kudrycka, focused on the Lukashenko regime's continuing campaign against independent media.

"In recent months, the pressure on the free media has increased alarmingly in Belarus," said Kudrycka, a member of the European Parliament from Poland and the EU Parliamentary Delegation for Relations with Belarus.

After citing the murders of Vasil Hrodnikau and Veronika Charkasova as examples of the kind of pressure under which independent journalists must function, she described the EU's programs to fill the need for trustworthy information in Belarus, including the recent selection of a consortium to broadcast on radio and television in the weeks leading up to the election. Hrodnikau was killed in 2005 and Charkasova in 2004; both were freelance journalists.

"The resources for support of media projects directed to Belarus are not sufficient," Kudrycka said, adding that the EU would welcome U.S. participation "in the financing of such projects, delivering also technical and know-how assistance."

The final witness at the hearing was Harald Gunther, the deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Austria in Washington. Austria currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

Gunther outlined EU policy towards Belarus, focusing on a November 7, 2005, statement by the EU's Council for External Relations that expressed "deep concern at the deteriorating situation of human rights and political freedoms in Belarus," and a January 30 statement that called on the Belarusian authorities to ensure that the presidential elections on March 19 are conducted in a free and fair manner in accordance with international standards and in line with Belarus' commitments in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations.

The Council for External Relations "restated its readiness to take further appropriate restrictive measures against the responsible individuals in the event of failure to uphold international standards in the electoral process, in particular those of the OSCE," Gunther noted.

Asked what the response to a rigged election would be, Kuskis said that "one of the objectives of our trip to the United States [is] to discuss this together with the colleagues and representatives of the United States to prepare these actions : and already sending the message to the Belarusian authorities, to Lukashenko, that our action is already prepared."

U.S. SUPPORT FOR EU EFFORTS

The United States recently has applauded the EU's support for democratic development in Belarus.

"We are greatly encouraged by EU efforts to transmit balanced and unprejudiced news reports to the Belarusian people," U.S. diplomat Kyle Scott told the OSCE February 2. "Such efforts are vital to growing a civil society and helping peaceful opposition, especially at a time when they are subject to harassment and persecution."

He noted "the recent statements by EU foreign ministers calling for presidential elections to take place in a 'free and normal fashion.' In the case of election violations, the ministers made clear the European Union is ready to take 'new and appropriate restrictive measures against the responsible people' in the Belarusian government."

Scott said the United States commends "such a principled stand and will continue to work closely with the European Union to help bring freedom to the Belarusian people."

Source:

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=February&x=200602031642051CJsamohT0.4550592&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html

Google