BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

10/04/2006

EU ministers to confirm Hamas aid cut-off, extend Belarus visa ban

Luxembourg - European Union foreign ministers Monday are set to confirm a freeze in direct aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government despite appeals by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to give the militant group more time to change its hardline policies.

EU ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, are also expected to extend a visa ban against 31 Belarus leaders deemed responsible for the crackdown on democratic groups following last month's presidential elections.

Europe's decision to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority follows weeks of warnings that funding would be suspended unless Hamas, which is blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the EU and the US, agreed to renounce violence, recognize Israel and abide by past Palestinian-Israeli peace agreements.

Some diplomats said up to 30 million euros in EU aid could be frozen but others said that up to half of the EU's 500 million euro annual assistance package could be in danger since the Palestinian Authority was involved in the disbursement of most EU funds.

The EU move comes despite calls by Palestinian President Abbas that the bloc should give Hamas more time to change its stance on Israel.

Hamas leader and Palestinian Premier Isma'eel Haneya has denounced the EU aid cut-off as blackmail and said his government will look for other sources of funds.

The EU decision on Friday was followed quickly by an announcement in Washington that the US had also stopped payments to the Hamas-led government.

While the funding for the government, which could total 411 million dollars, is stopped, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack announced that the US would significantly boost its humanitarian aid 'to help Palestinians in need.'

That aid will be administered through the UN and other entities not associated with the Palestinian government.

The funding suspension has been denounced by international aid agency Oxfam which says it will worsen the plight of ordinary Palestinians and undermine fragile Palestinian institutions.

Oxfam said relief agencies did not have the capacity to run health and education services in the Palestinian Territories. 'The Palestinian Authority is responsible for this and therefore donors must keep funding it,' it stressed.

Several EU countries have also voiced concerns that any EU aid suspension would hurt the Palestinian people and worsen the economic situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

Like the US, the EU is expected to insist that aid to meet the 'basic needs' of the Palestinian people will continue.

EU governments rushed 120 million euros worth of assistance to the caretaker Palestinian Authority earlier this year, insisting that the money must be spent before the new Hamas government took over.

The EU is the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority, with member states and the European Commission putting aside around 500 million euros annually since 2003.

Separately, EU ministers are expected to ban 31 top Belarusian officials, including President Aleksandr Lukashenko, from entering any of the 25 member states.

The visa ban will be kept open and under constant review, EU sources said. Six Belarus officials are already banned from entering the bloc.

In addition to Lukashenko, the new list contains ministers and security chiefs Aleksandr Radkov, Vladimir Rusakevich, Viktor Halavanu and Stefan Suharenko.

EU diplomats did not rule out further action against Minsk. This could include an assets freeze on political leaders deemed responsible for the recent crackdown on opposition groups and protests which followed the presidential elections last month.

The 31 Belarusian officials are banned from entering the bloc because they are 'responsible for the violations of international electoral standards ... and international human rights law, as well as for the crackdown on civil society and democratic opposition,' draft conclusions to be adopted by EU ministers said.

Source:

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/article_1154032.php/EU_ministers_to_confirm_Hamas_aid_cut-off_extend_Belarus_visa_ban

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