BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
20/10/2008
Czech diplomat to discuss Czech EU presidency in Belarus
Prvni namestek ministra zahranici Tomas Pojar.
Namestek Pojar se chysta do Beloruska
Prague - Czech First Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar will on Friday leave for Belarus where he is expected to discuss the Czech Republic's forthcoming EU presidency, among other things, Pojar said.
Pojar's talks in Minsk will concern Czech-Belarussian relations that cannot be considered very good at present. The programme of his visit is still being discussed.
Bilateral visits by Czech and Belarussian official representatives are rare.
Like other EU member states, the Czech Republic sharply criticises the Belarussian regime of autocratic President Alexandr Lukashenko.
The Czech Republic criticises Belarus for human rights abuses and it supports Belarussian dissidents.
Belarussian opposition leader and unsuccessful presidential candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich visited Prague last week. Milinkevich visited Prague several times in the past.
Last week, the European Union decided to soften sanctions towards the Belarussian regime for six months.
However, Czech-Belarussian relations are still at freezing point which is proved by the fact that the two countries' diplomatic relations, that are on the charge d'affaires level, have not been upgraded to the ambassadorial level which is usual in diplomacy.
The Czech Republic even refused to issue a visa to Lukashenko in 2002 when he wanted to attend the NATO summit in Prague.
On the other hand, the Belarussian authorities are annoyed by the activities of Czech politicians and non-governmental organisations.
In the past, Minsk refused to allow access to the country to senator Karel Schwarzenberg who is now Czech foreign minister.
Former Czech PM Milos Zeman was one of the Czech politicians who visited Belarus six years ago. He headed a delegation of the Socialist International Committee on Peace, Democracy and Human Rights.
Author: CTK
Source:
http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=339777
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