English

US senator set to discuss response to post-election crackdown in Belarus with state secretary

US Senator Richard Durbin told reporters in Minsk on January 14 that he intended to meet with US State Secretary Hillary Clinton and representatives of the White House to discuss measures that could be taken in response to the post-election developments in Belarus.

The senator said that the main purpose of his visit was to let the citizens of Belarus know that the United States was closely following the situation in their country.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka's decision to arrest more than 600 people, to bring criminal charges against five presidential candidates and to give two other candidates suspect status set a precedent in world politics, Mr. Durbin said. What happened in Belarus was a serious step backward in terms of democratic governance and respect for human rights, he said.

There can be no democracy if an election defeat means imprisonment, Mr. Durbin stressed.

While in Minsk, Mr. Durbin met with relatives of some of those detained over the December 19 post-election protest, with representatives of the non-state media and with Foreign Minister Syarhey Martynaw.

According to Mr. Durbin, detainees' relatives complained to him about government pressure. There are some things that constitute a violation of human rights and cannot be accepted, he said, adding that the detainees should have access to legal and medical assistance and be allowed to meet with their relatives, he said.

Mr. Durbin expressed hope that if the riot case opened following the December 19 protest reached court, the trial would be open to the public.

Mr. Durbin said that although difference of opinion had been obvious during his meeting with Mr. Martynaw, he had managed to convince the minister that both Europe and the United States were paying close attention to what was going on in his country.

Mr. Martynaw spoke with pride about the recent presidential campaign had been conducted in Belarus, Mr. Durbin said, adding that he had asked the minister how many people would dare to run in the following presidential election if a defeat meant imprisonment.

According to Mr. Durbin, he and Mr. Martynaw did not discuss KGB raids on the editorial offices of non-state media outlets and on the homes of journalists, the possibility of the release of political prisoners or Washington's sanctions against Belarus' state petrochemical conglomerate Belnaftakhim.

As Mr. Durbin said, when he asked Mr. Martynaw whether the post-election detainees had proper access to legal counsel, Mr. Martynaw said that this question should be posed to the justice minister.

Mr. Durbin expressed hope that the United States would not have to take any measures against the Belarusian government because Alyaksandr Lukashenka would realize the injustice of what was going on and stop the crisis.

Mr. Durbin was a member of a delegation of US congressmen that met with Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Minsk in June 2009.

After the previous, 2006 presidential election, which was condemned by international observers as flawed, the United States imposed a travel ban on a number of Belarusian officials "implicated in human rights abuses and election fraud." In August 2007, Washington widened the application of the restrictions to include directors and deputy directors of state enterprises.

In November 2007, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Belarus’ Belnaftakhim. The Treasury Department added Belnaftakhim to its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons, which led to freezing any assets found in the USA that belonged to Belnaftakhim and barring US citizens from doing business with Belnaftakhim and its subsidiaries and offices.

After the Belarusian authorities released political prisoners in August 2008, the United States suspended for six months the sanctions against two Belnaftakhim subsidiaries. The suspension has been renewed several times and currently remains in place until May 31, 2011.