BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

28/03/2008

U.S., EU Condemn Crackdown On Media, Demonstrators In Belarus

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement posted on the department's website on March 27 that the United States "condemns today's crackdown on independent media in Belarus, during which some 30 independent journalists in 12 cities were detained without legitimate cause." He continued: "This follows the violent breakup of peaceful demonstrations in Minsk on March 25, which was accompanied by scores of arrests. The regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka has again shown itself as a brutal, authoritarian dictatorship that blatantly ignores human rights and fundamental freedoms." McCormack called on the Belarusian authorities to release all those arrested and jailed as well as to hold those responsible to account. "We also call on Belarus to stop its harassment of the remaining independent media still striving to report on the realities in Belarus and to respect freedom of assembly, speech, and independent media in Belarus," he added. The same day, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering condemned the violent dispersal of the March 25 demonstration in Minsk, Belapan reported. "The use of violence by the Belarusian authorities against peaceful demonstrators and the harassment of independent journalists are in contradiction to the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression and is not compatible with democratic fundamental rights," Poettering said in a statement. Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to Belarus Aleksandr Surikov, who on March 27 commented on the police crackdown on the March 25 demonstration, said that people involved in political activities in violation of the law are sent to jail in all countries. Surikov said that opposition forces in Russia and Belarus try to "stress the political component of their actions while keeping silent about the criminal aspect." AM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/03/3-cee/cee-280308.asp

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