BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/06/2006

EU and US officials barred from entering Belarus

Reuters

Minsk: Belarus said yesterday it had barred entry of European Union and US officials in retaliation for a similar ban by Western countries to denounce President Alexander Lukashenko's re-election.

Western countries, long critical of Lukashenko's tough line on dissent, dismissed Lukashenko's landslide victory in March as blatantly rigged.

Both the EU and Washington barred the president and more than 30 other officials linked to the election. Sanctions also included a freeze of bank deposits held by officials abroad.

"Retaliatory measures have been introduced for the European Union and United States," Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Popov told a briefing.

"They are based on the principle of reciprocity."

Popov declined to reveal who was on the list.

"The list contains the most offensive political figures who have shown themselves to be in the forefront of not wishing our country well," he told reporters.

"These are people who actively interfered in Belarus's internal affairs during the election campaign.

These are people who continue to appeal for the imposition of serious economic sanctions against our country."

Minsk had previously refrained from retaliatory moves, though it barred flights by aircraft carrying US and Canadian delegations after those countries refused to refuel a plane taking Belarus's prime minister to and from Cuba.

Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has made it clear since his re-election that he has no intention of altering the policies which have attracted such widespread Western condemnation.

Western countries accuse him of cracking down on opponents, closing down media not loyal to his administration and hounding independent cultural institutions.

Both the EU and Washington barred the president and more than 30 other officials linked to the election.

Source:

http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Other_World_Stories/10045638.html