European Union to reinstate visa ban on Belarussian president and more than 150 officials after election protest crackdown
The European Union will reinstate a visa ban on President Aleksander Lukashenko and other officials in Belarus next week in response to his crackdown on protests after a disputed December election, EU diplomats said.
Western governments have grown increasingly concerned about human rights violations in Belarus and have pressed Lukashenko to free scores of protesters detained after the election, which the opposition and international monitors allege was rigged.
EU foreign ministers are expected to agree to reimpose visa bans that were suspended by the EU in 2008 to encourage reforms in the former Soviet republic, when they meet in Brussels on Monday.
"In principle, it is agreed, visa restrictions will be put back in place," one diplomat said.
The EU imposed travel sanctions on, and froze the assets of, Lukashenko and other Belarus officials in 2006 after the last election. The financial measures remain in place and more are likely to be introduced.
More than 150 officials will be barred from the 27 EU states, including some who were responsible for the post-election violence, the diplomat said. The EU will also not hold any talks with Minsk about a financial assistance programme for reforms.
Lukashenko, who has ruled the country of 10 million in an autocratic style since 1994, has brushed off criticism and warned he could take tough counter-measures against states that impose sanctions. He has not specified what those measures might be.
Belarus is an important energy transit route, with a fifth of Russia's gas supplied to Europe crossing its borders, as well as a significant portion of oil. It is also a buffer between Moscow and Nato.
Lukashenko needs foreign cash to keep the economy afloat and has manoeuvred between Russia and the EU, as well as China and Venezuela, often switching sides to win pledges of investment and financial aid.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/27/alexander-lukashenko-banned-eu-belarus
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