BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/01/2008

2 Ex-president's: EU Belarus Visa Hikes Bolsters Regime

WARSAW (AFP)--The European Union should cut visa costs for citizens of Belarus because recent price hikes could bolster the ex-Soviet republic's regime, former leaders of Poland and the Czech Republic said Wednesday.

"The only way of avoiding the further isolation of Belarus and its citizens, and further strengthening of the authoritarian regime, is for the E.U. to make the decision unilaterally to reduce the cost of obtaining a visa to no more than EUR35, irrespective of the current relations with the authorities of this country," Polish ex-presidents Lech Walesa and Aleksander Kwasniewski and their Czech counterpart Vaclav Havel said in a joint appeal.

Both Poland and the Czech Republic broke free from the crumbling communist bloc in 1989 and joined the E.U. in 2004.

They are among the most vocal opponents of Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled since 1994 and is dubbed "Europe's last dictator" in some Western capitals.

On Dec. 21, they were also among the nine mostly ex-communist countries which joined Europe's Schengen zone, a 24-nation grouping where border checks are abolished among member states but where external controls are boosted.

Before Poland joined Schengen, citizens of neighboring Belarus only had to pay EUR5 for a tourist visa. The Czech Republic charged EUR15.

Belarussians now have to obtain a EUR60 visa valid for the entire zone, noted the Polish Stefan Batory Foundation and the Czech-based Association for International Affairs, which issued the ex-presidents' appeal.

"That approximately equals one third of the average monthly salary there," the two pro-democracy organizations noted.

Before the Schengen zone's expansion, around 400,000 visas were issued every year to citizens of Belarus - population 10 million - by the country's E.U.- member neighbors Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.

The foundations warned tougher visa rules contradict the E.U.'s stated policy of not isolating ordinary Belarussians despite ratcheting up the pressure on the country's leadership.

"The way in which the E.U. addresses visa relations with Belarus could well prove to be one of the most important matters concerning the future of Belarus and its citizens," they said.

Source:

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20080109%5cACQDJON200801091144DOWJONESDJONLINE000729.htm&