Posted on 12/12/2006 8:32:10 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
UNITED NATIONS – Negotiations on an Iran sanctions resolution were unexpectedly postponed Tuesday because of Russia's anger at the United States for raising the plight of an opposition leader in Belarus in the U.N. Security Council.
Belarus, an authoritarian former communist state that has close ties to Russia, is not on the agenda of the U.N.'s most powerful body. Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin strongly objected when senior U.S. diplomat William Brencick brought up the 54-day hunger strike of jailed former Belarusian opposition presidential candidate, Alexander Kozulin, council diplomats said.
The five veto-wielding council members – the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France – along with Germany had been scheduled to meet soon after to discuss Russian amendments to a revised European draft resolution on Iran. But because of the diplomatic tiff over Belarus, the meeting was put off. “It wasn't the best timing by the U.S.,” said Britain's U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry.
The Europeans circulated a revised text on Friday in a bid to win backing from Russia and China, and Churkin said after talks Monday he was pleased with the direction of the negotiations though specific points still needed to be worked out.
A U.S. official said Washington felt it was important to raise the issue of Kozulin in the Security Council because of U.S. concerns for freedom of political expression and democracy, especially in the heart of Europe.
“We raised this issue and our goal was to highlight the plight of this individual and what it means for the state of democracy in this country,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the council meeting was closed.
Kozulin, who ended his hunger strike on Tuesday, has been jailed since March when he led a protest march following presidential elections in which he was one of three candidates challenging authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Kozulin had been on hunger strike to protest his sentencing in June to five and a half years in prison for organizing the unsanctioned protest.
Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994, quashing dissent and maintaining power through elections that have been dismissed by critics abroad and at home as illegitimate.
The US should STFU on this this stuff for now. Iran is the focus.
Yeah, if we just keep quiet and look the other way for KGB Putin's communist revanche in Belarus, then maybe he won't sell the ayatollah uranium. How else can we kiss Putin's ass?
Does Belarus have oil? If not then agreed we should STFU for the time being.
Ah, you have correctly guessed the title of tomorrow morning's "PDB"
Russia uses Belarus as a middleman to sell arms to Iran, Syria, North Korea and other state sponsors of terrorism. Agreements with Russia on sanctions mean nothing as long as Putin has his mini-me Luka in charge of Belarus.
Kozulin, who ended his hunger strike on Tuesday, has been jailed since March when he led a protest march following presidential elections in which he was one of three candidates challenging authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. ==
Do you remember WHAT it was the march? Kozulin with his supporter just seiged the prison building outside of Minsk. Just imagine if some potical opponent rally will storm the federal prison building in United States. No wonder that authority will jail such attackers. So as Belorus authority did with Kozulin and his band.
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