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US President Bush receives Belarusian opposition leaders

US President George W. Bush received a delegation of Belarusian opposition politicians in Washington on December 6, the White House’s press office told BelaPAN.

The delegation, which arrived in the USA on December 2 and will leave on December 8, included Alyaksandr Milinkevich, a former presidential candidate; Anatol Lyabedzka, chairman of the United Civic Party; Syarhey Kalyakin, leader of the Belarusian Party of Communists; Anatol Lyawkovich, acting chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party “Hramada”; Zmitser Fedaruk, a 17-year-old leader of a youth opposition group Malady Front; Pavel Sevyarynets, a founder of Malady Front; and Enira Branitskaya, a 26-year-old civil society activist who spent six months in prison in 2006 for her work as co-leader of an unregistered election observation group called Partnyorstva (Partnership).

They met with US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice on December 3 and attended a briefing, titled “The Future Belarus: Democracy or Dictatorship?” the following day.

The politicians also met with experts on Belarus representing US non-governmental organizations, visited the offices of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Washington Post newspaper.

They are to give radio and television interviews, meet with staff at the US National Security Council and the office of US Vice President Dick Cheney, and with US lawmakers, in particular Christopher Smith, a member of the US House of Representatives.