BELARUS:Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko urged the West yesterday to lift sanctions against his country despite criticism of an election by western monitors who said the poll fell short of accepted standards.
"We are waiting for you to lift the sanctions which you introduced and which have offended the entire Belarussian people," Mr Lukashenko told Anne-Marie Lizin, a senior monitor. "Why have you erected an iron fence around us?"
The EU and US accuse Belarus of violating fundamental rights during Mr Lukashenko's 14 years in power and have imposed sanctions, including an entry ban on the president and punitive measures against Belarussian companies. None of the 78 candidates from the liberal and nationalist opposition won a seat in Sunday's parliamentary election.
A report by the monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) noted minor improvements over previous polls in the country of 10 million. But it said the count had been plagued by cheating, and monitor access had been hindered in 35 per cent of cases.
The OSCE also said the election campaign had failed to inform voters of the issues or of candidates.
- (Reuters)