Austria called President Lukashenko's statements "Completely Absurd"

It was reported that President Lukashenka stated in an interview held in Minsk with the Austrian Press Agency (APA) that “Democracy in Belarus is the same as in Austria; almost identical. Democratic values in Belarus are as high as in any other European country”.

The General Secretary of Amnesty International Austria commented that, unlike the Belarusian leader, the role of Amnesty International was not to compare democracy levels in different countries however, setting aside any comparisons, the situation regarding Human Rights in Belarus seemed very complicated and not at all secure.

“We are concerned with issues such as the Freedom of the Media, the use of the Death Penalty and the persecution of opposition, civil society and non-governmental organizations. It is true that Human Rights violations take place in these areas both in Austria and other EU countries, however in no case are they so brutal, systematic, long lasting and frequent as in Belarus. Belarusian President Lukashenko has to bear full responsibility for that”, said Mr Patzelt.

Q: “The interview of the Belarusian leader with the Austrian Press Agency provoked extensive discussions among Belarusian bloggers. In Belarus, the Internet is probably the only medium where one can publically discuss statements of the Belarusian President and visitors of Belarusian human rights sites have been criticizing the position Austria and Austrian Business take in relation to the Belarusian regime…”

“Amnesty International has often warned Austrian entrepreneurs about the possibility of getting involved in situations involving harsh human rights violations while doing business with the Belarusian authorities because of the systematic violation of basic rights and freedoms of Belarusians in the country. We issued a special warning in this regard to the Head of “Austrian Telecom” as the company will find itself in a difficult situation if it provides information about its clients upon request to the Belarusian authorities. We also pointed out to the heads of Austrian “Reiffeizenbank” how unsafe it was to open credit lines for the Belarusian regime. The authorities could continue their massive attack on human rights using these resources”, said Mr Patzelt.

Mr Patzelt also said that the human rights situation in Belarus was under scrutiny by almost all European offices of Amnesty International.

Amnesty International will continue to closely monitor the development of the situation on the 25 March in Belarus and also will continue to demand the immediate release of political prisoner Mr Aleksandr Kozulin by the Belarusian authorities.

By Alena Struve, Radio “Liberty”