BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

28/04/2006

Norway condemns arrest of Belarus opposition leader

Norway condemns the arrest of the Belarus opposition leader Aleksandr Milinkevitsj. He was arrested on Thursday together with several other dissidents, and sentenced to 15 days in jail, allegedly for participating in an illegal protest demonstration.(Photo:Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg)

- Norway condemns the arrest of Aleksandr Milinkevitsj and other leading opposition politicians in Minsk, says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

- We cannot accept that Belarus authorities put obstacles in the way of the freedom of assembly and freedom of expression in the country, the Norwegian Prime Minister said in a press release.

- I discussed political freedom with Milinkevitsj during his visit here in Oslo on April 20th, said Stoltenberg, who added that he had asked Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere to bring up the matter with his colleagues at the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Bulgaria's capital Sofia.

Stoltenberg said will continue to support the democratic movement in Belarus.

(NRK)

Rolleiv Solholm

Source:

http://www.norwaypost.no/cgi-bin/norwaypost/imaker?id=23909