2004 press releases

U.S. Embassy Statement on Mikhail Marinich (May 7, 2004)

The Embassy of the United States of America expresses its concern over the recent arrest of former Belarusian government minister and ambassador Mikhail Marinich. As Belarus develops its democracy, including the holding of important parliamentary elections this year, the arrest of Mr. Marinich, who has been an active and open participant in Belarus' political scene, creates an atmosphere that could call into question the intention of the Belarusian leadership and Belarusian authorities to conduct political discourse and elections freely, fairly and without use of threat or intimidation of those political figures who may express different views. History has shown that stability depends on government's ability to protect and respect the rights and freedoms of its citizens. We call upon Belarus' authorities, especially its legal and judicial organs, to respect and uphold the legal rights and freedoms of Mr. Marinich and all Belarusians.

The United States Embassy would also like to take this opportunity to remind the Belarusian authorities that reducing fear in society remains one of the principal actions the OSCE Parliamentary Troika has called on Belarus to take to comply with its obligations as an OSCE member. A fair disposition of Mr. Marinich's case, and an end to harassment of non-governmental organizations, including the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and independent media, would reduce such fear and would clearly signal the intent of Belarusian authorities to improve relations with the United States. We would welcome and would seek to respond positively to such a clear signal.