Milinkevich Nominated For European Prize
Belarusian opposition leader Alyaksandr Milinkevich at the European Parliament in April (epa)
The European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Belarus said that in this year's presidential election Milinkevich had shown "courage to challenge Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the last dictator of Europe."
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, was set up in 1988.
It is awarded each year by the European Parliament on or around December 10.
The prize is worth 50,000 euros.
(www.charter 97.org, Belapan)
Belarusian students studying at an EU-funded university in Vilnius, Lithuania
WATCHING AND WAITING: The European Union repeatedly urged Minsk to conduct a fair and democratic presidential election on March 19. The EU external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said in a statement today that the recent arrests of Belarusian opposition figures are "unacceptable" campaign violations. Ferrero-Waldner repeated an EU threat of "targeted sanctions" against top Belarusian officials if the elections are not free and fair. However, the EU will withhold final judgment until March 20, when the bloc's foreign ministers meet in Brussels....(more)
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