US Ambassador In OSCE Speaks In Support Of Belarusian Human Rights Watchdogs :: Charter'97 :: News

The United States Ambassador In OSCE Stephan M. Minikes delivered a speech to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on February 5. IN his speech the Belarusian problem was touched upon again. He expressed concern regarding the assault of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. The human rights watchdog was charged 380 millions rubles tax debt recently (about 180 thousand US dollars) for absence of registration of the grants in the Department of the Humanitarian Activities.

“The United States shares the concern expressed by the EU regarding the onerous tax assessed against the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. The Belarusian Helsinki Committee is a valuable member of the NGO community and the grounds for the assessment appear to threaten the international donor community`s programs for Belarus. Respect for NGOs is enshrined in OSCE commitments. We are concerned this action represents another assault upon civil society in Belarus.

We would request Belarus provide more information about this development. We also look forward to a report from the OSCE Office in Minsk on this matter and reserve the right to return to this matter in the future,” said Stephan M. Minikes.