Belarusian authorities threaten to close OSCE Office
- 3.09.2009, 9:11
The Administration of Lukashenka doesn’t see grounds for OSCE presence in the country.
The Belarusian side has to thoroughly study the prospects of the OSCE Office in Minsk, including appointment of its new head, taking into consideration that there are no objective grounds for OSCE presence in Belarus, BelaPAN reports.
This theme was discussed yesterday at a meeting between head of Lukashenka’s Administration Uladzimir Makei and head of the OSCE Office in Minsk Hans Jochen Schmidt, the First TV Channel reports.
Belarus hopes these approaches will be understood and accepted by key European partners with whom the Belarusian side is ready to continue an open and constructive dialogue on the whole range of issues, Uladzimir Makei said.
The statement was made in connection with Schmidt’s early transfer to another position.
According to Makei, the Belarusian party understands well the essence and reasons for the complaints against the Head of the Office from some OSCE member states and the radical opposition; Belarus regards these complaints as ungrounded and unacceptable aimed at applying pressure on the Office and undermine the trust of the Belarusian government to its work.
Issues on Belarus-OSCE cooperation were also discussed at the meeting. Schmidt “told about the work of the OSCE Office to help the Belarusian government promote democracy, liberalize economy and develop new projects in the country.”
Makei praised the efforts of Hans Jochen Schmidt to make the work of the OSCE Office in Belarus stable, constructive and measured. The Office became an “important interaction instrument between Belarus and the OSCE institutions and other European organizations”.
Schmidt told in his earlier interview to BelaPAN that he hadn’t been recalled from Minsk, but had been given a new offer.
As www.charter97.org has already informed, the term of appointment of the head of the OSCE Office in Minsk expires in February 2010, but the ambassador leaves in September.
Several complaints against the acting head of the Minsk OSCE Office were made to the OSCE by “Young Front”, the United Democratic Forces, and former driver of the OSCE Office in Minsk Syarhei Harankou.
It should be noticed that the OSCE Office’s activity is estimated ambiguously. Belarusian democratic politicians believe the current OSCE Office mandate is not enough to work in Belarus effectively.
Oppositionists were also indignant at “ambiguous” statements made by the Minsk OSCE Office head.
Hans Jochen Schmidt told in an interview to BelaPAN that “fundamental radical changes” mustn’t have been demanded from the Belarusian government.