Belarusian authorities don’t want any independent investigation into 19 December events
The Belarusian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs refuses to assist an independent investigation of the events
within the frames of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism.
The MFA states that “certain western
countries continue their policy of exerting pressure on the Republic of Belarus
trying to use any means available, and … are trying to involve the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
in this process.
A group of states are manipulating the existing procedural loopholes in the
OSCE documents and has initiated the deployment of a rapporteur mission to Belarus, though
there are absolutely no grounds for this.
An arbitrary, double-standard interpretation of the OSCE documents, discriminatory initiatives and block policies contradict the values of the organization and undermine its role as a key forum for common European security and cooperation,” a representative of the Belarusian MFA concluded.
Yesterday, representatives of the United Kingdom and 13 OCSE countries met yesterday in Vienna and called on Belarus to cooperate in a fact-finding mission by international experts to investigate serious concerns over the handling of demonstrations following the 19 December 2010 Presidential elections in Belarus and the developments since. This request was made under an OSCE arrangement known as the Moscow Mechanism.
