Belarus: Cooperation With the OSCE

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We appreciate Secretary General Kubis' report. We cannot help but note, however, that it reflects no concrete progress towards cooperation with the OSCE, in particular in connection to an OSCE presence in Minsk.

We have all heard positive sounds from Belarus before, even as it expelled members to the OSCE mission there and abused OSCE commitments. There is no need to hear any more pronouncements of good will. What we need to see now is a resolution of this crisis.

Meanwhile, Belarusian attacks on opposition figures continue to intensify. On November 5, the Belarusian KGB seized United Civic Party leader Anatoli Lebedko as he emerged from a meeting with officials of the U.S. Embassy in Minsk. The Belarusian KGB released Lebedko with a warning that he might be charged with treason if he persisted in meeting with foreign government officials. The Lukashenko regime's blatant attempt to intimidate the political opposition into not meeting with the international community constitutes only the latest evidence of its disregard for the kind of freedom of contact and movement normally afforded to political representatives in a democratic society.

Mr. Chairman, we are convinced that a resolution of the crisis surrounding the OSCE Mission in Belarus can be achieved, and in rapid order, with good faith. However, absent concrete progress, we, like the EU, are prepared to embrace, in short order, specific measures that reflect the seriousness of our concern over this problem and the damage it is causing to the integrity of this organization.