Head of OSCE Office in Minsk to discuss situation in Belarus with new OSCE chairman-in-office :: Charter'97 :: News

The head of the OSCE Office in Minsk, Ambassador Eberhard Heyken, plans to discuss a number of issues concerning Belarus with the OSCE`s new chairman-in-office Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, on January 13. The discussion will take place within the framework of the OSCE Permanent Council’s meeting, Dr. Heyken said at a news conference in Minsk on Tuesday.

Slovenia holds the OSCE Chairmanship in 2005, succeeding Bulgaria in annual rotation.

The head of the OSCE Office in Minsk is expected to invite Mr. Rupel to visit Belarus and discuss the possibility of a visit to the country by Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE`s Representative on Freedom of the Media.

Dr. Heyken said that he would highlight the conviction of Mikhail Marinich, a former minister and diplomat turned opposition politician who was sentenced to five years` imprisonment on December 30 for allegedly misappropriating office equipment that the Delovaya Initsiativa (Business Initiative) association, of which he was chairman, had received from the US embassy for temporary use.

According to Dr. Heyken, the Office has already sent a detailed report on the trial to the OSCE Secretariat. He said that he was planning to find out what steps the OSCE would take regarding the case.

In April, Belarus is to take over the four-month rotating chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation, which deals with the military aspects of security in the OSCE area.

The OSCE, the largest regional security organization, is to celebrate its 30th anniversary this year.