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US State Department official to meet with opposition leaders in Minsk this week

David A. Merkel, the United States’ deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs who arrived in Minsk on August 21 on a two-day visit, will meet with opposition leaders on Friday.

Attending the meeting will be Lyavon Barshchewski, chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front, Syarhey Kalyakin, chairman of the Belarusian Party of Communists, Anatol Lyabedzka, chairman of the United Civic Party, and former presidential candidates Alyaksandr Milinkevich and Alyaksandr Kazulin, Mr. Lyabedzka told BelaPAN.

"The election campaign is the main agenda item for me," he said. "The question is whether something can be done now to bring the ongoing election campaign in Belarus closer to the OSCE standards."

Also under discussion will be the restriction of certain individuals' rights, Mr. Lyabedzka said. "The release of all political prisoners doesn't entirely solve the problem of victimization," he stressed.

There is still the case against the young people who were convicted over an unsanctioned demonstration staged in downtown Minsk in January, Mr. Lyabedzka said. In particular, seven opposition youths were sentenced to “corrective labor at the place of residence,” which means that a certain amount will be deducted from their income during the two years, and three were sentenced to "restricted freedom terms."

"This restriction is very serious and means that the young people have to be on police registers, report their movements, and are barred from traveling abroad," Mr. Lyabedzka said. "That's why this issue is still relevant." Participants at the meeting, which will probably be held behind closed doors, may also discuss the government's foreign travel ban list, he said.

While in Minsk, Mr. Merkel is also expected to meet with Belarusian government officials. The foreign ministry will draw up a program of meetings by Friday, Maryya Vanshyna, a spokeswoman for the ministry, told BelaPAN. "This will be a working visit," she said.

The visit comes one day after the US State Department welcomed the release of whom it described as “the last two Belarusian political prisoners, Syarhey Parsyukevich and Andrey Kim.”

“The release of these individuals, combined with what we hope will be further positive steps, offers the real possibility of a significant improvement in relations between the United States and Belarus,” said State Department Spokesman Robert Wood.

Messrs. Parsyukevich and Kim were freed from prison on August 20 after being pardoned by Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Former presidential candidate Alyaksandr Kazulin, the highest-profile opposition politician imprisoned in Belarus, was released on August 16.