BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

17/04/2006

Belarus appoints same PM for new term

MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus's parliament re-appointed Sergei Sidorsky as prime minister on Monday in a sign that the ex-Soviet state has no intention of changing policies that sparked protests at home and in the West.

Sidorsky had to resign in line with the constitution after President Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected for a third term last month in a vote branded as rigged by independent observers.

But he was re-nominated by Lukashenko and predictably won overwhelming parliamentary support on Monday. He was backed by 103 deputies in the 110-seat chamber.

Belarus's liberal opposition protested against Lukashenko's re-election by staging an unprecedented vigil in capital Minsk. Police eventually broke up the rally and hundreds of opposition activists were jailed.

The European Union blames Lukahshenko for crushing dissent in the 10-million-strong country and backs his opponents' calls for a change of course. It has slapped a visa ban on the authoritarian leader and 30 of his top officials.

"Sidorsky's nomination confirms the continuity of the policies which were backed by the all Belarussian people," Gennady Nevyglas, head of the presidential administration, told deputies before the vote.

"Political stability, dynamic economic development, society's consolidation helped settle an issue of appointing the premier in the very first days and without political upheavals."

After Sidorsky's appointment, he pledged to deputies to maintain existing policies and simplify government structures.

"We will take further measures not to allow unjustified price growth," he said.

The Belarussian economy has maintained many of its Soviet-era features, with the government ordering companies what to produce and at what prices to sell.

Lukashenko routinely intervenes into the running of major state companies. He stresses his commitment to improving social standards and raising pensions and wages.

Source:

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-04-17T135736Z_01_L28170446_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BELARUS.xml&archived=False