Chairman-in-Office issues statement on Belarus

OSLO, 2 December 1999 -The Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Foreign Minister Knut Vollebæk of Norway, welcomes the release of Mikhail Chigir, former Prime Minister of Belarus, from pre-trial detention. He trusts that the investigations against Mr. Chigir will now be discontinued, and insists on open proceedings should the case go to court after all.

The Chairman-in-Office encourages the Government of Belarus to speedily implement other confidence-building measures, in particular providing access by the opposition to state controlled media. This would certainly facilitate the planned negotiations between the Government and the opposition called for in the Istanbul Summit Declaration. The negotiations will establish legislation to ensure free, fair and internationally accepted parliamentary elections in 2000 as a means to overcome the constitutional controversy in Belarus.

The Chairman-in-Office recognizes the release of Mr. Chigir as a promising indication of the readiness of the Government of Belarus to initiate a genuine transformation of Belarus towards a pluralistic democracy guided by the rule of law and respect for human rights.