BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
27/02/2008
U.S., EU Call For Permanent Release Of Belarusian Politician While President Says Belarus Will Not "Grovel" To West
U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey welcomed on February 26 the recent releases of Belarusian political prisoners and expressed the hope for the permanent release of Alyaksandr Kazulin, an imprisoned former presidential candidate who has been granted three days' leave to attend the funeral of his wife (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 26, 2008). "It is important that his release be made permanent and unconditional," Casey said in a statement posted on the State Department's website. "Should Mr. Kozulin's release be made permanent, all internationally recognized political prisoners would have been released, and we would be prepared to begin a dialogue with Belarus on further steps to improve bilateral relations," he added. The same day, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed a similar hope, saying that granting Kazulin the bereavement leave "is not only a manifestation of humanity but also ranges among the release of five political prisoners earlier this year." The Belarusian authorities recently released youth activists Zmitser Dashkevich and Artur Finkevich, journalist Alyaksandr Zdzvizhkou, former legislator Andrey Klimau, and businessmen Yury Lyavonau and Mikalay Autukhovich. Autukhovich's prison sentence was changed to corrective labor at his home. Kazulin, who was arrested during the antigovernment demonstrations that followed the March 2006 presidential election and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison for organizing events that disturbed public order, is serving his term in a high-security correctional facility near Vitsebsk. AM
President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said on February 26 that Belarus may agree to some compromises in relations with its neighbors, the United States, and the European Union, but this does not mean a change of its foreign policy, Belapan and RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported. "There is no force today that could have us trembling, begging, and groveling," Lukashenka said. "We have created this state and we should defend it, although there will be pressure from every direction." Lukashenka said that the government follows a "balanced and careful foreign policy." "Although we may agree to compromises somewhere, as has been the case with the European Union lately, I would not say that we have changed the vector of our foreign policy and are trying, as some say, to make advances to the West," he added. AM
Source:
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2008/02/3-cee/cee-270208.asp
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