BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

Jul 8, 2005

EU urges action against Belarus

The European Parliament urged the European Union on Thursday to consider extending sanctions against Belarus in response to what it described as violations of media freedom in the ex-Soviet state.

Belarus's foreign ministry rejected the accusations, saying President Alexander Lukashenko's administration was upholding stability at a time when governments should be concentrating on the fight against terrorism.

The Strasbourg-based assembly condemned what it called "indiscriminate attacks" on media freedom under Lukashenko, in power since 1994.

These included "arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment of detainees, disappearances and politically motivated persecution", the parliament said in a non-binding resolution.

"Members of the European Parliament want the EU to take strong action against the Belarus regime for media persecution, and envisage a possible visa-ban list for implicated Belarus authorities."

The resolution also urged the European Commission and EU governments to create a support programme for independent journalists, including aid, scholarships and traineeships.

The EU imposed limited sanctions on Belarus last year after alleging Lukashenko's administration had staged fraudulent elections. It froze high-level links and increased to six from four the number of Belarus officials banned from EU territory.

Citing Lukashenko's policies, the EU has excluded Belarus from its European Neighbourhood Policy to build closer ties with the bloc's eastern and southern neighbours. In Minsk, foreign ministry spokesman Ruslan Yesin said: "When issues of fighting terrorism are centre-stage throughout the world, some parliamentarians still discuss the affairs of a country with a stable political and socio-economic system."

Police in Minsk broke up a protest by a few dozen opponents of Lukashenko demanding explanations for the disappearance of a prominent journalist five years ago.

The protestors were holding portraits of Dmitry Zavadsky, a cameraman for Russia's Channel One who disappeared on July 7, 2000 on his way to Minsk airport. Journalists held a small protest unhindered earlier in the day outside the capital.

His body was never found. Activists blame Lukashenko for the disappearance, though three ex-servicemen are now serving jail terms for the crime.

Some Western analysts suggest Belarus may be the next state to be caught up in liberal protests like those which unseated governments in ex-Soviet Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

But the small, disparate opposition is demoralised by police action and seven decades of Soviet rule have crushed the national sentiment prominent in other states.

Source: Reuters

Source:

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411366/596612