INTERFAX
Mar 2 2006
VILNIUS. March 2 (Interfax) – The Lithuanian embassy in Minsk has protested the escalation of tensions in bilateral relations during the Belarussian presidential election campaign.
“The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry affirms that the propaganda campaign, which is escalating tensions and has repeatedly referred to Lithuania, damages mutual understanding between our neighboring countries,” a source at the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry information department told Interfax, citing a statement sent to the Belarussian Foreign Ministry.
Independent candidates Alexander Milinkevich and Alexander Kozulin should be able to freely express their civic position and will in the press and at meetings with Belarussian citizens, the source said.
“The violent arrest of presidential candidate Alexander Kozulin fragrantly violates universal human and civil rights and democratic election norms,” the source said.
