BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

04/12/2006

Vondra criticises Belarus for human rights abuses

Brussels- Czech Foreign Minister Alexandr Vondra today sharply criticised the violation of human rights and basic freedoms in Belarus in his speech delivered at a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) today.

In connection with the conflicts in Moldova and Georgia, Vondra indirectly called on Russia to respect territorial integrity of these countries.

Vondra said that the OSCE had not found its role after the end of the Cold War.

The only totalitarian regime in the 21st-century Europe degrades everything what has been collectively achieved since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Vondra said.

The efforts of the EU, the USA and further countries to make Belarus embark on a democratic path have brought no results, Vondra said.

Vondra said that during the past year, there had been no progress in the solution to the conflicts in Georgia and Moldova.

Besides, there were some "alarming" events which had weakened the trust in good will of some participants involved in peace-keeping missions in these countries parties, Vondra said, stressing the necessity of "full respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty."

Russian troops are deployed in pro-Russian regions in Georgia and Moldova as part of peace-keeping missions.

Vondra advocated the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which monitors elections in OSCE countries and which was criticised by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Vondra said there was no reason to change the work of the office which only observed the mandate given to it by OSCE countries.

The ODIHR is fulfilling its mission and it played a vital role in the elections in Belarus and Ukraine, Vondra told Czech journalists.

Vondra said that Russia did not have to fear the office when anticipating the 2008 presidential elections.

Author: CTK

Source:

http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=224104

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