BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

05/04/2006

EU welcome for Belarus poll loser

By Oana Lungescu

BBC News, Strasbourg

The European Union has pledged to maintain pressure on Belarus to open up to democracy, as it welcomed a defeated opposition candidate to Strasbourg.

The international community has described the presidential polls last month as severely flawed.

Opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich got a warm welcome from MEPs.

He asked the European Parliament for tougher sanctions against Belarus officials and stronger support for students and the independent media.

Many MEPs, especially from the former communist bloc, wore red and white scarves with the logo Solidarity with Belarus.

They are the colours of the former national flag banned by President Alexander Lukashenko - who won a third term in office.

Travel ban

Mr Milinkevich vowed to continue his campaign to unseat the man often described as Europe's last dictator, although he admitted it could take months or even years.

He called on the EU to ban hundreds of officials involved in the recent crackdown, a call EU foreign ministers will follow next Monday, but only in part.

They will extend an existing travel ban to President Lukashenko himself and to some 30 close associates, including ministers and MPs.

They will also warn that other sanctions, such as freezing the assets of those on the list, could be considered at a later stage.

After meeting Mr Milinkevich, the Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, whose country holds the presidency of the EU, said several European countries would be offering grants to hundreds of student activists who lost their university places in Belarus.

The EU is already funding independent media broadcasts to the country, but Mr Milinkevich called for more support for television and internet projects.

In a strongly-worded statement expected to be adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament says Mr Lukashenko cannot be recognised as the legitimate president of Belarus, although that is a step too far for some EU governments.

Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4880500.stm

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