BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/08/2005

Belarus denies entry to European diplomats

ISN SECURITY WATCH (Tuesday, 9 August: 01.30 GMT) - Belarus on Monday denied a delegation of Polish deputies of the European Parliament permission to enter the country, news agencies reported. The delegation was trying to enter Belarus to conduct a study on human rights and democratic standards, specifically hoping to investigate the recent conflict between the government and the Union of Poles in Belarus. "We consider the arrival of foreign emissaries who want to teach us how to live to be direct interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state," the Belarus Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Minsk accuses high-ranking members of the Union of Poles in Belarus of holding unauthorized meetings and of embezzling funds from the organization. Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has long accused Poland, a member of NATO and the EU, of seeking to undermine his regime.

Source:

http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=12390