BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

31/01/2007

Belarus' rights group says U.S., EU pressure has averted threatened closure

MINSK, Belarus: Belarus' authoritarian regime has stepped back from closing down a leading human rights group after strong U.S. and EU pressure, the group said Wednesday.

Last week, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee had to vacate its offices and said that it was facing closure because it had lost its legal address.

But the presidential property agency, which owns the building where the group rents space, had unexpectedly extended the lease for another year, the group's head, Tatyana Protko, said Wednesday.

She suggested the about-face was part of an effort by President Alexander Lukashenko to improve relations with the West amid disputes with neighboring Russia.

"Lukashenko was frightened by the response of the EU and U.S., with whom he's trying to unfreeze ties," Protko said.

She added that the extension of the lease "is a first step of the Belarusian leadership toward understanding the European value system."

Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, has been dubbed "Europe's last dictator" by many Western governments for his intolerance of dissent and undemocratic extension of his rule.

On Monday, the U.S. State Department said the decision to evict the Belarusian Helsinki Committee "underscores the steady deterioration of the human rights situation in the country."

Last year, the Justice Ministry sought to close down the committee, accusing it of posting unauthorized observers during 2004 parliamentary elections, occupying office premises reserved for residential housing and committing major tax violations.

The move against a persistent critic of Lukashenko followed unprecedented protests against his disputed re-election in March.

In December, authorities confiscated the group's computer equipment and furniture, but the courts stopped short of closing the Helsinki Committee.

Source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/31/europe/EU-GEN-Belarus-Rights.php