US Extends Black List of Belarusian Officials

28.02.2007.

The US administration has imposed economic sanctions on a group of Belarusian top officials. This time the Prosecutor General of Belarus Piatro Miklashevich, the minister of education Aliaksandr Radzkou, the minister of information Uladzimir Rusakevich, Minsk special riot police squad commander Iury Padabed, a former Interior Minister Iury Sivakou and the head of public associations department of Justice Ministry of Belarus Aleh Slizheuski are blacklisted. The sanctions include a ban for entering the US, freezing any assets under U.S. jurisdiction. Besides, the order prohibits Americans from doing business with the six officials, ITAR-TASS informs. Thus, US sanctions have been imposed on 16 present and former top officials of Belarus, the US Treasury Department informs.

According to the statement by the Treasury Department, these persons played an important role in Lukashenka’s despotic regime, took an active part in crackdown on civil society and democratic opposition in Belarus after the fraudulent presidential elections last year.

’Those who commit human rights abuses and political repression have no place in civil society’, said Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. ‘We will continue to target Belarusian officials who abuse their positions to steal from their people and to suppress democracy and freedom’.

In 2006 the Treasury Department imposed such sanctions against 10 senior Belarusian officials, including the president of Belarus. These steps are based on President Bush order. The US authorities are referring to the fact that they are acting simultaneously with the EU.

In January 2007 George Bush signed Belarus Democracy Act adopted by the US Congress in December.

Belarus Democracy Act was adopted by the Congress in October 2004. Under The Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006, the senior leadership of the Government of Belarus includes the president, Prime Minister, deputy prime ministers, ministers of the government, chairmen of the state committees, and officials of the presidential administration. Besides, any officials of Belarus personally involved in crackdown on freedoms in Belarus, including judges and prosecutors, are included in this category.

By the Secretary of State’s decision any other person ‘taking part in development and administration of Lukashenka’s policy which contradicts international standards of human rights’ may included into this list.

As we have informed, speaking the National Governors Association in Washington Monday, George Bush told that The USA will insist for freedom in Belarus. Stating that his administration is going to conduct a robust foreign policy, the head of the White House underlined that one of its priorities would be fight on corruption in foreign states.