BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
18/02/2008
Belarusian opposition leader released from prison in what president calls gesture to the West
MINSK, Belarus (AP) - Belarusian authorities released an opposition leader Friday in what the country's authoritarian president described as a gesture meant to help improve his government's ties with the West.
Andrei Klimov, a former lawmaker who was sentenced to two years in prison in September on charges of insulting the president, was the latest of several opposition figures to be freed from custody in Belarus.
"We have made an unprecedented step of goodwill, now let's see how the European Union and the United States will respond to that," President Alexander Lukashenko said, referring to the release of several opposition activists since the start of the year.
The United States and the EU have imposed sanctions against Belarus, urging Lukashenko to free all political prisoners and allow more democratic freedoms before sanctions can be eased and relations normalized. Lukashenko, who is described in the West as "Europe's last dictator," has stifled dissent and independent media during his 13 years in power.
Klimov said after his release that he would continue his "fight for democracy in Belarus." "I'm thankful not to dictator Lukashenko, but to the EU nations and the United States which exerted pressure on the Belarusian leader," he said.
Several other prominent opposition activists, including Alexander Kozulin, who challenged Lukashenko in the 2006 election, still remain in custody.
Lukashenko began signaling a desire for better relations with the West after Russia's decision to sharply hike prices for oil exports to Belarus - exports on which the country's Soviet-style, centrally controlled economy had long depended.
Source:
http://www.kyivpost.com/bn/28403/
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