BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

23/08/2007

Belarus to Bar Some American Officials

By YURAS KARMANAU

The Belarus government has warned that some American officials will be barred from entering Belarus in response to the recent expansion of U.S. visa restrictions on Belarusian authorities.

"In response to the unfriendly actions of the United States, Belarus will implement corresponding visa restrictions applying to certain categories of American officials," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marina Vanshina said, without naming the officials or say how many there were.

But Belarus will make it easier for ordinary American citizens to enter the tightly controlled former Soviet republic, Vanshina said in her comments Wednesday. U.S. applications for stays of one month or less will not require an invitation from inside the nation.

Last year, the United States and the European Union slapped travel sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist for more than a decade, and other top government officials. The Belarusian leader has quashed dissent and opposition groups and built a Soviet-style, centrally controlled economy that has been heavily reliant on cheap Russian energy supplies.

The travel sanctions followed the arrests and harassment of opponents and others during a 2006 election that gave Lukashenko a third term but was roundly criticized as deeply flawed by Belarusian opposition groups and many Western governments.

The U.S. earlier this month expanded a list of Belarusians whose visa applications are subject to enhanced scrutiny, a move aimed at barring entry to anyone responsible for actions that "threaten the transition to democracy in Belarus."

Source:

http://www.townhall.com/news/world/2007/08/23/belarus_to_bar_some_american_officials