NATO Reviewing Partnership Pact With Belarus

President Alyaksandr Lukashenka speaks to reporters on election day in Minsk, March 19 (epa) March 29, 2006 -- A NATO spokesman today said the alliance has put an 11-year-old partnership pact with Belarus under review after a presidential election denounced in the West as flawed.
NATO spokesman James Appathurai said it was unclear what measures NATO allies might take, but stressed there was broad dissatisfaction within the alliance at alleged vote-rigging and arrests of opponents.


President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's landslide victory has been deemed flawed by international monitors, the European Union, and the United States.


(Reuters)

Assessing The Election

Assessing The Election

A police officer closes the gate on a Minsk detention center after demonstrators were brought there on March 24, 2006 (RFE/RL)

LOOKING BACK: On March 21, 2006, RFE/RL's Washington office hosted a briefing on the March 19 presidential election in Belarus and its unfolding aftermath. The roundtable discussion featured CELESTE WALLANDER, director and senior fellow at the Russia and Eurasia Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; "The New York Times" Moscow correspondent STEVEN LEE MYERS; and RFE/RL Belarus Service Director ALEXANDER LUKASHUK (the latter two speaking via telephone from Minsk).
The roundtable discussion focused on the actions of the administration of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka during the campaign and the election and on what the world can expect from Lukashenka's third term in office.

Listen to the entire briefing (about 60 minutes):
Real Audio Windows Media


THE COMPLETE PICTURE: Click on the image to view a dedicated page with news, analysis, and background information about the Belarusian presidential ballot.