BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

23/03/2007

U.S. Deeply Concerned by Belarus' Intimidation of Its Citizens

State Department issues call for tolerance in advance of planned demonstration

By David Anthony Denny

USINFO Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States is "deeply concerned about ongoing intimidation" of Belarusian citizens by the government of Belarus, the State Department says.

Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that Belarusian political party leaders, members of nongovernmental organizations and young people plan a peaceful demonstration in the capital, Minsk, on March 25. In a written statement March 23, McCormack urged the Belarusian regime "to allow its citizens to exercise their right to assemble peacefully and express their views without harassment or interference." He added that it is essential that security forces exercise restraint against the demonstrators.

McCormack also expressed concern for the well-being of all prisoners held for political reasons and urged their immediate release.

The State Department announcement comes less than a month after the U.S. Treasury Department froze the financial assets of six Belarusian government officials and prohibited U.S. citizens from doing business with them as a result of their involvement in human rights abuses and political repression. (See related article.)

The United States took similar action against 10 other Belarusian officials, including President Alexander Lukashenko, in July 2006. That action stemmed from a national election in March 2006 -- condemned by the European Union and the United States as fundamentally undemocratic -- that was followed by a government crackdown on Belarus' democratic opposition. (See related article.)

The State Department's report on human rights in Belarus, released in February 2007, stated that Belarus' government held "a fraudulent presidential election" in 2006.

"Throughout the election campaign and in the months afterward," according to the State Department, "opposition and civil society activists, including four domestic election observers and a former presidential candidate, were beaten, harassed, fined or imprisoned."

Since winning the presidency in 1994, Lukashenko "has systematically undermined the country's democratic institutions and concentrated power in the executive branch through authoritarian means, flawed referenda, manipulated elections, and arbitrary decrees that undermine the rule of law," according to the report.

The full text of McCormack's statement is available on the State Department Web site, as is the Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Belarus.

Source:

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=March&x=20070323170102adynned0.508938