Communist Kalyakin regard problem of political prisoners as unserious

• 15.11.2007, 18:28

“I think it is wrong to block a state because somebody has claims to the dictator,” Syargei Kalyakin, leader of oppositional communists said commenting the US decision to impose sanctions against Belneftekhim.

“I think it is wrong to block a state because somebody has claims to the dictator,” Syargei Kalyakin, leader of oppositional communists said commenting the US decision to impose sanctions against Belneftekhim.

The US Treasury Department has frozen assets Belneftekhim has under U.S. jurisdiction, and bared US juridical persons and citizens from doing business with Belarus.

In Kalyakin’s opinion, the decision of Bush’s administration “doesn’t fit with the Belarus Democracy Act.”

“It is said there that personal accounts and personal movement, etc. will be blocked,” the politician said in the interview to АФН.

“What concerns Belneftekhim I think it’s wrong, if there are no serious grounds for sanction imposing in international relations,” Kalyakin emphasised.

The Bush’s administration froze the assets of Belarusian state-owned concern Belneftekhim on Tuesday, November, 13. The US authorities said the reason was that the company was controlled by Aliaksandr Lukashenka. The Treasury's sanctions target the representative offices of Belneftekhim in

Germany, Ukraine, Latvia, Russia and China, as well as a US subsidiary identified as Belneftekhim USA, Inc. As it is known, the USA requires stopping repressions in Belarus and releasing political prisoners.

Recently US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Kramer noted that new sanctions are connected with the fact that the Belarusian authorities have refused to release political prisoners.

“I’m disappointed to see that no political prisoners have been released. Moreover, we have seen the regime enforcing the pressure on the opposition and activists of non-governmental organizations”, US Department of State’s spokesman said.