Stubb: Belarus has long road ahead of it
OSCE Chairman meets President Lukashenko and opposition figures
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Belarus still has a long way to go to democracy, but at least the direction is right, says Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb (Nat. Coalition Party).
Stubb visited the Belarusian capital Minsk on Tuesday in his capacity as the Chairman of the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). During his visit he met with President Alexander Lukashenko and Foreign Minister Sergei Martinov, and with members of the opposition.
The visit by an OSCE leader to the country is unusual. President Lukashenko has been severely criticised for his autocratic style of government.
The opposition complains of oppression, and there were widespread claims of electoral fraud in the vote count of the Parliamentary elections in late September.
At next week’s meeting of the foreign ministers of the European Union in Luxembourg, Stubb plans to take up the issue of conditional cooperation with Belarus. To get something, Belarus would have to commit itself to political reforms.
“The most important are electoral legislation, freedom of association, and freedom for the media”, Stubb said. Cooperation could involve the economy, energy, and the dismantling of visa restrictions.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Martinov also plans to attend the Luxembourg meeting. He is one of the few Belarusian politicians to be granted a visa to the EU.
President Lukashenko and 40 other politicians are banned from travel to the European Union, even as tourists.
During the OSCE visit Stubb says that it was made clear that if Belarus wants cooperation, it needs to attend next week’s EU foreign ministers’ meeting.
Tuesday’s discussions also touched upon the death penalty.
Lukashenko admitted that there is room for improvement. However, at the same time he also criticised the opposition”, Stubb said.
The two also discussed the situation in Georgia. Belarus has not recognised the breakaway regions of Abkhasia and South Ossetia, although it is expected to do so. The matter will be decided by the newly-elected parliament, when it convenes.
Just a day earlier, Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Belarus. During the visit, Lukashenko praised the good relations between the two countries. However, there has been some friction between the two countries recently.
The elections that were held a week and a half ago were severely criticised by representatives of the opposition.
“They brought out that the election campaigning was not as open as was suggested to the West. Opposition candidates were also put under pressure”, Stubb says.
Belarusians are primarily interested in contacts with the West, mainly for economic reasons. Exports to Russia have collapsed: during the time of Belarus’s independence, Russia’s share has gone down from 85 per cent to 35 per cent of all exports from Belarus. The EU buys nearly half of all of the country’s exports.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 8.10.2008 - TODAY |
 Stubb: Belarus has long road ahead of it |
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