Foreign minister vows to press for lifting Belarus` five-year entry ban on five Ukrainians :: Charter'97 :: News

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk vowed that he would even appeal to the United Nations in an effort to ensure that the Belarusian authorities` five-year entry ban on five members of the National Alliance youth organization is annulled, the National Alliance press office told BelaPAN.

The minister reportedly made this promise while meeting in Kyiv on May 13 with National Alliance leader Ihor Huz, other members of the organization who had served jail sentences in Belarus for their participation in an unauthorized April 26 demonstration in Minsk, and Igor Shchekarevich, a representative of Belarus` opposition youth groups.

Mr. Huz, who is a member of the Lutsk City Council, and four other National Alliance members were arrested in Minsk on April 26 during the Belarusian police`s crackdown on an attempt by a few hundred anti-Lukashenko protesters to stage a march to mark the 19th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident. One of the Ukrainians was sentenced to nine days, three, including Mr. Huz, to 10 days, and one to 15 days in jail.

Four of them were freed only after they had served out their sentences and only one, Andrei Bokoch, had his jail term shortened from 15 to 10 days. All the five returned home under a deportation order and were banned from entering Belarus in the next five years.

According to the National Alliance press office, Mr. Tarasyuk welcomed the organization`s intention to set up a Belarusian-Ukrainian coordinating center in Kyiv and approved of its idea that Belarusian opposition youths persecuted in their homeland be given the opportunity to study at Ukrainian higher educational institutions. The minister said that he would personally attend to the matter, the press office said.

Mr. Huz reportedly informed the minister about his organization`s plans to increase cooperation with Belarus` opposition, which envisage a visit of National Alliance members to Belarus in the near future.

"Minister Tarasyuk stressed that if the Belarusian authorities resort to moves similar to those following the April 26 events in Minsk, the stance of Ukraine will be uncompromising," the press office said. "The Ukrainian foreign ministry would use measures similar to those applied for settling the last incident."