BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

10/04/2006

EU slaps visa ban on Lukashenko, Belarus aides

By Ingrid Melander

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The European Union on Monday banned Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko and 30 ministers, prosecutors and regional election officials from entering the 25-nation bloc, an EU official said.

EU foreign ministers took the decision to punish those they say were involved in rigging Belarus's March 19 presidential polls and a crackdown on opposition activists.

The EU did not decide to freeze the assets of the banned individuals for now but warned it may do so at a later stage, and asked the European Commission to make proposals for further targeted measures, another EU diplomat said.

Lukashenko, sworn in on Saturday, is number one on the list, followed by his head of presidential administration, Gennady Nevyglas, the ministers of education, information and justice, the chairman of the lower house of parliament and the head of the KGB security service.

Others named include the prosecutor-general, several judges and prosecutors, the country's seven regional election officials and the head of the state television and radio company.

Alexander Milinkevich, nearest rival to Lukashenko in the elections, called for hundreds more officials to be put on the list of banned people when he spoke at the European Parliament last week, but argued against economic sanctions.

Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda also urged his European partners to agree to ban more individuals from entering the EU.

"We have to be very strict ... We need to have a very long ban list," he told reporters on entering the meeting, adding there should definitely be more than 31 people.

At Saturday's swearing-in ceremony, Lukashenko accused Belarus's EU neighbours Poland, Lithuania and Latvia of trying to sow upheaval in his country of 10 million.

He said voters wanted no part of "coloured" revolutions that had propelled pro-Western leaders to power in Georgia and Ukraine.

"Unfortunately this crusade against our country is spearheaded by our neighbours, new EU recruits," Lukashenko told 3,000 dignitaries during the ceremony, broadcast live from the imposing Palace of the Republic.

Source:

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-04-10T095455Z_01_L10491437_RTRUKOC_0_UK-EU-BELARUS.xml&archived=False

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