BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

28/10/2007

Belarus president denies anti-Semitism charges

AFP MINSK (AFP)---Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed "the last dictator in Europe" by Washington, denied Friday charges of anti-Semitism, the presidential press service said. "If anyone says that there is anti-Semitism in Belarus, or that we oppress the Muslims here, do not believe that -- those are words by Belarus's enemies, they alone can slander this holy land and this holy people," Lukashenko was quoted as saying. "Our country's history was closely tied with the Jews. In the times of the Russian Empire, Belarussian lands were within the area where Jews were allowed to live, so ethnic groups are so mixed here, it would be stupid to think that Belarussians could be against Jews," Lukashenko said. "How can anyone think that I as president can find it profitable to build hostility in the society?" he said. Last week Lukashenko created uproar with comments about poor living conditions in the Belarus town of Bobruisk, telling reporters that "after all this is a Jewish city and you know how the Jews treat any place they live in. Look at Israel." Lukashenko's authoritarian regime has come in for heavy criticism from the European Union and United States over its human rights record. Belarussian Jewish groups have warned of growing anti-Semitism, voicing alarm at the open publication of anti-Semitic brochures and books, desecration of Jewish cemeteries and closure of the republic's only Jewish university. The Nazis exterminated some 800,000 Jews in Belarus during World War II and mass emigration to Israel in the 1990s reduced the country's Jewish community to around 28,000.

Source:

http://www.ejpress.org/article/21250