OSCE CiO regrets Belarus decision not to extend accreditation of AMG official

VIENNA, 29 October 2002 - The Portuguese OSCE Chairmanship has issued the following statement:

Despite renewed efforts by the OSCE Chairmanship to overcome the current difficulties between Belarus and the OSCE, the Chair announces with regret that the Belarusian authorities have refused to extend the diplomatic accreditation of the Officer-in-Charge, Ms. Alina Josan, the last remaining member of the Advisory and Monitoring Group (AMG).

The de facto expulsion of Ms. Alina Josan, effective from 29 October 2002, follows the expulsion by the Belarusian authorities of the AMG Acting Head in April 2002, Deputy Acting Head in June 2002 and Human Dimension Officer in September 2002.

The fact that the Belarusian authorities have decided to continue expelling OSCE Mission members as the OSCE Chairmanship makes new attempts to begin consultations and negotiations does not contribute to the desirable normalisation of relations between Belarus and the OSCE.

While the Belarusian authorities have withdrawn all basic conditions for the AMG to function in a normal and adequate manner in Minsk, the AMG's mandate remains valid and the Chairmanship will ensure the continuation of its activities from Vienna. The Chairmanship recalls that the AMG's mandate was agreed upon by a decision of the Permanent Council in September 1997 and that it can only be terminated by a formal decision of the Permanent Council.

Once again the Chairmanship reiterates its readiness to enter into productive negotiations with the Belarusian authorities on the future OSCE presence in Belarus.