BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

02/10/2005

European Union Calls for Freezing of Belarus Assets Contingent upon Improvement of Human Rights; Institute Applauds Action, Calls for Steadfast EU Commitment to Human Rights in Belarus

To: National & International Desks

Contact: Charles Perin, Institute on Religion and Public Policy, 202-835-8760, perin@religionandpolicy.org

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 /Christian Wire Service/ -- The European Union stalwartly condemned the government of Belarus, calling on EU governments to freeze Belarusian authorities' assets if Minsk does not improve its human rights situation.

In a strongly worded resolution, EU lawmakers also repeated their call for member states to deny visas to Belarusian officials whom the EU holds responsible for human rights abuses and persecution, and condemned the government of President Alexander Lukashenko for what they called indiscriminate attacks on the media, minority activists and religious leaders.

"The European Parliament has taken a strong and determined stand against the only dictatorship remaining in Europe," commented Institute on Religion and Public Policy President Joseph K. Grieboski. "This is a first step but significant step in holding Lukashenko responsible for the direct and immediate discrimination, persecution, and oppression he has wrought on the people of Belarus. I call on the European Parliament to remain steadfast in their commitment to human rights and democratization in Belarus and truly to hold Lukashenko accountable."

This is the latest in a series of actions taken by the European Union to call attention to Belarus' atrocious human rights record. The European Union applied sanctions to Belarus in June 2, 2004, after the disappearance of three leaders of opposition groups and one journalist. On September 16, the Council of Ministers of the European Union denounced Lukashenko's government for their "persecution" and "intimidation" of civilian militants and independent journalists.

The strong-worded resolution blasting Aleksandr Lukashenko's government demands the immediate release of several activists whom it called political prisoners. In particular, the resolution calls for recognizing the current Belarusian regime as a dictatorship and Mr. Lukashenko a dictator, and "identifying and freezing the personal assets of President Lukashenko and those other senior members of the regime who ensure the continuation of the dictatorship."

The resolution comes as the EP's reaction to what it called "an arrogant reply" by Belarusian Ambassador Vladimir Senko to European Parliament President Josep Borrell's letter of concern about the imprisonment of opposition politician Mikhail Marinich.

The resolution is based on the European Union's draft action plan in support of democracy in Belarus approved by the EP delegation for relations with Belarus in February and submitted for consideration to Benita Ferrero Waldner, EU commissioner for external relations, and Javier Solana, foreign policy chief of the 25-member bloc.

The resolution will be sent to the European Commission, the EU Council, the governments of the EU member states and Belarus, the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

Should Lukashenko's regime fail to comply with the EU's demands for human rights improvements, the government would face harsh penalties, the most damaging of which would be expanding sanctions to include "freezing of assets of Belarusian authorities abroad."

A copy of the resolution can be found on the Institute's website at www.religionandpolicy.org.

Source:

http://www.earnedmedia.org/irpp1002.htm

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