BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

23/08/2007

Belarus bars some U.S. officials in response to American restrictions

The Associated Press

MINSK, Belarus: Belarus said Wednesday that it will bar several American officials from entering the country in response to the recent expansion of U.S. visa restrictions on Belarusian authorities.

The move reflects increasing hostility between Belarus and the United States. U.S. officials have called Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko "Europe's last dictator."

The U.S. and the European Union have said that Lukashenko and other high-level Belarusian officials cannot enter their territory. The move is a sanction for the arrests and harassment of opponents, protesters and others during a 2006 election in which Lukashenko won a third term.

The United States dismissed the election as illegitimate, as it has previous elections that have kept Lukashenko in power since 1994.

Earlier this month, the United States expanded the list of Belarusians whose visa applications are subject to enhanced scrutiny aimed at barring entry to anyone responsible for policies or actions that "threaten the transition to democracy in Belarus."

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"In response to the unfriendly actions of the United States, Belarus will implement corresponding visa restrictions applying to certain categories of American officials," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marina Vanshina said. She did not name the officials affected or say how many there were.

In an attempt to court U.S. public opinion, though, Vanshina said Belarus will make it easier for ordinary American citizens to enter Belarus. U.S. applications for stays of one month or less will not require an invitation from inside Belarus, she said, calling the move "an example for our American colleagues."

Lukashenko's government has silenced dissent and closed opposition media. A handful of political opponents disappeared in the late 1990s and are feared dead.

The United States said earlier this month that it was expanding the list of officials subject to visa restrictions because the Lukashenko government "has continued to imprison and harass persons for speaking out in favor of democracy, holding peaceful demonstrations, and opposing the repressive policies of the regime."

Officials subject to the restrictions now include deputy government ministers and top judges, police and prosecutors, election officials, state company officials, as well as their spouses.

Source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/23/europe/EU-GEN-Belarus-US.php