BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/05/2006

EU freezes assets of Belarus president

BRUSSELS, May 19 (UPI) -- The European Union has frozen the assets of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, considered Europe's last dictator, over the country's disputed election.

It also Thursday froze the assets of 35 other Belarusian government officials accused of voting irregularities, Deutsche Welle reported.

Lukashenko, 51, was re-elected March 19 with 83 percent of the votes, causing protests. Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the polls were fraudulent.

In April, the European Union banned travel for the 35 Belarusian officials, who include the ministers of justice, information and education, the chief prosecutor and heads of electoral commissions in a number of districts.

President George W. Bush also barred Lukashenko and other members of the Belarusian government from traveling to the United States because of alleged human rights and election fraud.

These moves are likely to cause friction at the EU-Russia summit next Thursday because Belarus is a close ally of Russia.

Source:

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060519-014903-2117r