BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

14/10/2008

European Union eases travel ban on Belarus

LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- The European Union Monday temporarily lifted a travel ban imposed on Belarus and its president, Alexander Lukashenko.

"We have suspended the travel bans for six months except for those involved in the disappearance of political prisoners," one diplomat said Monday after the EU meeting in Luxembourg.

Belarus, a former Soviet republic regarded as Europe's last dictatorship, recently has shown signs of improving human rights and establishing democratic reforms, Deutsche Welle reported, noting the EU imposed sanctions on Lukashenko and other officials in 1999 for a crackdown on political opposition.

Lukashenko's government recently released three political prisoners but other pro-democracy leaders who disappeared nearly a decade ago have not been found or heard from, Deutsche Welle reported.

Source:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/10/13/European_Union_eases_travel_ban_on_Belarus/UPI-19091223941860/

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