OSCE Chairman-in-Office issues statement on Belarus

OSLO, 12 March 1999 - Last week the OSCE Chairman-in-Office urgently appealed to the Government of Belarus to release from detention Mr. Victor Gonchar, chairman of the opposition Election Committee. While in detention, Mr. Gonchar had started a hunger strike as a result of which his health was at risk. The Chairman-in-Office regret that this appeal went unheeded by the Government of Belarus. The efforts of the OSCE Assistance and Monitoring Group in Belarus to safeguard the human rights of Mr. Gonchar similarly met with no response.

Furthermore, the Chairman-in-Office is concerned by the humiliating manner in which Mr. Gonchar was finally released on March 11, having fully served the ten days of detention to which he was committed. Mr. Gonchar was apparently left on the street in a feeble condition. The Chairman-in-Office strongly deplores this harsh treatment of an individual in a poor state of health.

The Chairman-in-Office urges the Government of Belarus to avoid further action which could impede the opening of an inclusive political dialogue concerning the constitutional and other politically controversial issues in Belarus. The Chairman-in-Office again reiterates the readiness of the OSCE to assist in developing such a dialogue through its good offices.