BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/01/2007

Council of Europe leader urges Belarus to free government opponents, calls for dialogue

The Associated Press

MINSK, Belarus: A senior member of the Council of Europe called Friday for dialogue with Belarus, and said the release of jailed opponents of the authoritarian leadership would help break the ex-Soviet republic's isolation from the West.

Dutch senator Rene van der Linden, who chairs the human rights watchdog's Parliamentary Assembly, said the release of those jailed would be a step forward in promoting a closer relationship between Europe and Belarus.

He was speaking after meetings with officials, lawmakers, opposition figures and non-governmental organizations during a three-day trip to Belarus.

Amid strained relations between Europe and the government of President Alexander Lukashenko, the Council of Europe is trying to engage Belarusian leaders in debate about democracy, arguing that isolating the country would further strengthen the leader dubbed "Europe's last dictator" in the West.

"Hopefully, the dialogue is to start," van der Linden said, adding - "the situation contributes to it" - an apparent reference to increasingly cool relations between Belarus and Russia, which this year has withdrawn some of the economic support that has helped shore up Lukashenko's government.

"It is not in the interests of Belarus to remain isolated. It has to be interested in becoming a part of Europe," he said.

Belarus is the only European country outside the Council of Europe, because it does not fulfill basic membership requirements such as the rule of law. The European Union slapped a visa ban on Lukashenko and other senior officials after he won a third term in March in elections that were tarnished by arrests of opponents and protesters and widely rejected in the West as illegitimate.

Belarusian parliament speaker Vladimir Konoplyov said the country was ready for dialogue, but that any improvement in relations with Europe would not come at the expense of ties with Russia.

"We cannot set relations with Europe and relations with Russia, which is a strategic partner of our country, against each other," he said.

Van der Linden has held talks with Belarus' foreign minister and the speakers of both parliament houses, which are loyal to the government, as well as opposition leaders. He met with the wife of Alexander Kozulin, a prominent opposition leader who is serving a 5 1/2-year prison term after being arrested during protests over the presidential election, in which he ran against Lukashenko.

Source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/19/europe/EU-GEN-Belarus-Europe.php

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