BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

22/12/2010

Crackdown in Belarus denounced by key US senators

by Harry Oldfield

A number of top senators in the US have warned Belarus that it will have to pay a very heavy price for the crackdown on protests held after the recent election, adding that there is no place for Alexander Lukashenko's dictatorship in modern Europe.

Senators Joe Lieberman, John McCain and John Kerry said that the United States and its allies should now be looking at a tougher approach in relation to Belarus.

Kerry, who is a Democrats senator, is also the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. McCain is the number one Republican senator sitting on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the independent Senator Lieberman is the chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

Lukashenko's government has recently put approximately 600 demonstrators in jail after they were detained at a huge rally that was taking place to protest Lukashenko's re-election into government. The move by Lukashenko defies strong Western condemnation of such a bloody crackdown.

The three senators have said that they condemn Lukashenko's actions and the abuse of human rights that have been carried out after the election. The senators also said that the Belarusian government should be aware that there will be a heavy price to pay for such brutal actions.

Lukashenko, who was at one stage labeled by the US as Europe's last dictator, was re-elected on the weekend after he won almost 80 percent of the vote. Lukashenko will return to office for his fourth term.

Seven of the nine rivals who stood against Lukashenko in the election were also arrested after the election.

Source:

http://www.discountvouchers.co.uk/news/104253535.html




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