BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

25/05/2006

Belarus tries to close human rights group

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MINSK, Belarus -- The Justice Ministry said Thursday it had asked a court to close down one of the country's leading human rights groups, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee.

The move against a persistent critic of the authoritarian rule of President Alexander Lukashenko follows unprecedented protests against his disputed re-election in March.

In a statement posted on its Web site, the Justice Ministry said it had filed a motion at the Supreme Court requesting that it order the closure of the Helsinki Committee.

The ministry said the rights group "has been systematically violating Belarusian law and its own charter for a long time."

It accused it of posting unauthorized observers during 2004 parliamentary elections, occupying office premises reserved for residential housing and committing gross tax violations.

There was no immediate comment from the rights group.

Lukashenko, described by Washington as "Europe's last dictator," has been in power in his tightly controlled nation of 10 million since 1994, cracking down on political dissent and the independent media and squeezing non-governmental groups.

His re-election in the former Soviet republic was condemned as fraudulent by the opposition and Western governments and his regime was slapped with U.S. and European Union sanctions.

Source:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1103AP_Belarus_Rights.html