Belarus Agrees to Let OSCE Remain :: Charter'97 :: News

A 55-nation organization monitoring democracy will be allowed to remain in Belarus after a compromise agreement reached Monday that defuses government allegations of political bias, officials said. The office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (news - web sites) in Europe will reopen its office Wednesday, one day after the old OSCE (news - web sites) mission formally closes down, officials for the agency said. Belarus, an OSCE member, announced in October it was closing the OSCE office. But negotiations have been going on for weeks at the OSCE headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on how to keep the mission going, with attention focusing on compromise language on what the OSCE`s mission in Minsk should be.

Belarus officials wanted less emphasis on human rights and democracy monitoring. The draft decision on the mission`s mandate tones down its watchdog function while leaving it part of OSCE responsibilities.
In a statement, Belarus portrayed the compromise as recognition that the previous OSCE mission "led to interference in internal affairs of a sovereign state, (and) undermined the trust of the Belarusian government ... as well as the confidence of the Belarusian public."
But a European Union (news - web sites) statement said the agreement announced Monday will enable the OSCE to continue "promoting democratic institutions ... as well as monitoring and reporting on this process."
President Alexander Lukashenko, who has cracked down on dissent, accused the organization in the past weeks of supporting the opposition and meddling in the country`s internal affairs. The United States and the European Union — both members of the OSCE — have accused Lukashenko of human rights violations.
A U.S. congressman who recently visited Belarus said the agreement could lead to better relations with the United States.
"The good news is Belarus is finally seeing the light," said Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa. "Will this solve all the problems? No. But he (Lukashenko) is taking the first step."
Weldon led a congressional delegation that met with Lukashenko this month. At the time, he accused Lukashenko of "outrageous lies" for putting out a press release after their meeting suggesting the lawmakers had praised his leadership.
The United States has imposed travel bans on Lukashenko and other top Belarusian officials over alleged human rights violations.