BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

16/05/2006

EU, US impose sanctions against Belarus

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Tuesday, 16 May 2006: 11.40 CET) - Washington on Tuesday banned senior Belarusian officials and those with ties to the Belarusian government from traveling to the US.

The restriction applies to government officials "who formulate, implement, participate in, or benefit from policies or actions, including electoral fraud, human rights abuses, and corruption", US president George W. Bush said in a statement.

He said the ban targeted those who "undermine or injure democratic institutions or impede the transition to democracy in Belarus".

Belarusian President Aleksandar Lukashenko was re-elected for a third presidential term on 19 March, winning 83 per cent of the vote, according to official results, in elections condemned by opposition leaders and international observers as fraudulent.

Last month, Minsk jail opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich, a main rival of Lukashenko's in the presidential poll, for 15 days for taking part in a demonstration initially sanctioned by the authorities.

The EU also is set to announce sanctions against Belarus, saying it would freeze the foreign accounts of Lukashenko and 30 other high-ranking Belarusian officials, western media reported.

The Belarus administration said Lukashenko had no foreign accounts and called the EU's sanctions "complete nonsense".

In late March, Lukashenko and 30 other high-ranking officials were declared personae non grate in the EU.

Source:

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=15866