Elections in Belarus and Ukraine

MODERATOR: Good afternoon and welcome to the Foreign Press Center. For this afternoon's briefing on the Belarus and Ukraine elections we have Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Kramer. Assistant Secretary Kramer has recently returned from the region and will give you a short update on these two elections and then be happy to take your questions. Thank you very much.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: Thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to be here. I was in Minsk last week and had meetings with government officials as well as members of the opposition, people in the civil society community, students and also held a press briefing while I was there with members of the independent media in Belarus and went with the purpose to send the message that the United States as well as Europe are paying very close attention to what's going on in Belarus. Belarus has not been forgotten or neglected at all.

President Bush on Monday met with widows of two of those who have disappeared from Belarus. The Secretary of State also met with them. And the President's message was that the U.S. must work tirelessly to get rid of tyranny and there is no doubt that Belarus is run by a tyrant. The Secretary of State, as you know, has indicated that Belarus is, in fact, the last outpost of tyranny in Europe and we certainly will do all we can to support a free and fair election but also to remain engaged in Belarus for the long term, whether there is a democratic election in Belarus on March 19th or not. And certainly recent developments indicate that the scales are tipping heavily against such a free and fair election.

We've been working very closely with our European allies on Belarus. I also stopped in Brussels before I went to Minsk. We've had a number of discussions and consultations with the EU in coordinating our efforts to do all that we can to promote a free and fair election process in Belarus. And as just mentioned, we also are focused on the situation in Ukraine which is a very different situation certainly than what we see unfolding in Belarus. And in Ukraine, (there is) an extremely important election for the parliament there, the Rada, on March 26th.

There too, of course, we are pressing for a free and fair election. We also have indicated very clearly that the United States is prepared to work with any government that emerges from the Rada elections, as long as it's done through a free and fair process. There will be efforts made of course in the various blocs that are formed in Ukraine to form a coalition to agree on the prime minister. The Rada is now the body that chooses the prime minister under the constitutional reform in Ukraine. So we will be prepared to work with any government, but obviously we want to help Ukraine in moving ahead in reformist direction. We announced yesterday that we have reached conclusion on the WTO bilateral negotiations, which is a very positive move that follows our announcement on market economy status, GPS, and other things that reflect a very vibrant U.S.-Ukrainian relationship.

So I think with that I'll stop there and happy to take your questions.

MODERATOR: Fourth row there.

QUESTION: Nikolay Zimin, Russian ITOGI. (Inaudible.) How much money did you bring with you for the Russian opposition? Seriously, what you can say about this obligation that West diplomat bring the money for opposition? And can you say more details to whom you spoke in Belarusian and what was this talk about? Thank you.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: I obviously did not bring any money with me, other than my own personal money. And the United States has provided roughly $12 million in funding in fiscal year 2005 for democracy assistance and this is in support of a free and fair election process. It's not money that goes directly to any one candidate or another. The United States does not support any specific candidate. We're in favor of a free and fair process.

There are NGOs that are active in helping in promoting a free and fair election. There are also individuals and activists who are very engaged in a specific candidate's campaign. They have every right to be engaged in such political activity and they should not be interfered in those efforts by the government. What happened today certainly with the beating up and detention of one of the candidates, Alexander Kozulin, we condemn in the strongest terms. The arrest of other people who were gathering is also something that we strongly criticize.

We have indicated to the Belarusian authorities in the clearest terms that we can that we expect there to be a free and fair election. Beating up a presidential candidate is not exactly the way for the regime in Belarus to demonstrate its seriously about that. We have indicated to them that should there be incidents like there were today, that there will be consequences; that we are paying very careful attention to those who are involved in activities that promote either a fraudulent election or who promote violence. When I was there in Minsk last week, I was as clear as I could be that violence is unacceptable, that includes provocations from non-government side. But I have no reason to suspect that anything done today was in any way a provocation that this seemed to have been the very heavy-handed tactics of the security forces.

MODERATOR: I think we have a question from New York, if you would go ahead.

QUESTION: Yes. Neeme Raud, Estonian TV. Mr. Secretary, you said there will be consequences. What kind of consequences, if the government is kind of telling to the world that we do as we do and we don't really care what the world thinks? And also another question, the neighboring countries, like Baltic countries are very interested in supporting the NGO movement. You said the movement exists there but in what shape and how important is that movement in Belarusian? Thank you.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: I'm not going to get into the specifics of what types of consequences. I think the regime is fairly clear what we have in mind. I think a lot of you have a pretty good sense of it. For an event like this, I'm going to avoid getting into the specific kinds of consequences.

But in my meetings with people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as with the Central Election Commission, I was very clear with them that those who engage in activities that perpetuate a fraudulent election or those who would engage in violence and force, we will do everything we can to make sure that those people are held responsible and that life for them will become much more difficult and confined.

In terms of the NGO movement, I was struck, when I was there, that there is an active and vibrant NGO movement there. There's a vibrant civil society there, despite the very best efforts of the Belarusian government to suppress it. We are supportive of NGO activity. We support the development and flourishing of civil society in Belarus. That, obviously, in the long term, is what will provide for the best future for that country. And so, any efforts by other countries to provide support for that, we feel would be most welcome.

Support for NGOs, support for civil society is not destabilizing. We are not trying to destabilize the country. What we are trying to do is to provide hope and support for those looking to end the self-isolation that the regime in Belarus has imposed on the country and to help bring democracy and the end of isolation to Belarus.

MODERATOR: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Marek Walkuski, Polish Public Radio. President Lukashenko and the Government of Belarus has been accusing Poland of intervening in its internal affairs for some time. Today, President Lukashenko said that Poland dances to Washington's tune and (inaudible) on Polish -- good Polish-Belarusian relations. Could you comment on that and describe what is the Polish-American cooperation on Belarus?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: I think we have extremely good cooperation with Poland. We, through actually the efforts of the Polish Government as well as with others, have managed to launch the radio broadcast for Belarus. I would say that on Poland, as well as with other European countries, we are not dictating to anyone on what to do on Belarus. There is a joint -- there is joint concern about what's happening inside Belarus and we have full coordination --- neither of us is dictating to the other.

I would point out, however, that when the United States and the EU tried to send a joint mission to Minsk recently with Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried and Robert Cooper of the European Union, that joint mission was turned down by the authorities in Minsk. Our two -- the U.S. and the EU then decided to issue a statement that reflected our disappointment at the Belarusian government's decision not to accept this mission. And I'll just point out that that statement was written by the EU. We very gladly and willingly signed on to it.

So, any charges or accusations made against Poland or any other country in Europe that are working in support of freedom and democracy in Belarus -- that they are following U.S. dictates are simply untrue and ridiculous. And all the evidence points to the fact that the United States is working very closely with our European allies in efforts to promote freedom and democracy in Belarus.

MODERATOR: Let's go to the front row here, to Turkey.

QUESTION: Umit Enginsoy with NTV Turkey. Sir, this is a question about the Black Sea. Kurt Volker, last week, talked about your wish to expand Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean into the Black Sea and Turkey and Russia are cool to the idea. And Turkey says that there are already two NATO-related forces in the area -- one its Black Sea Harmony operation; the second one is composed of the littoral states, the Black Sea four and Turkey says that's just -- these forces can do the job for counter crimes and counterterrorism.

Now, how important is the Black Sea for the United States and what are you doing to persuade Turkey on this matter? And if Turkey and Russia still remain cool to the idea, would you push other options? Thank you.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: I will tell you that in addition to visiting Brussels and Minsk last week, I was in Moldova this week and just returned last night. So, I am not familiar with what my colleague, Kurt Volker, may have said, so I'm not in a position to comment. The Black Sea is obviously very important to the United States. It's just as important, if not more so, to the countries that are in the region, but I'm not in a position to comment, sorry.

QUESTION: Jocelyne Zamblit with AFP news agency. As far as Belarus, what type of leverage do you have over there, given the regime you're working with and that you tried to send a delegation over there and you were -- what type of leverage, if any, do you have in working with authorities over there?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: At the risk of sounding like a cliché, I think the Secretary of State may have said it best, which is to shine a spotlight on the situation there. It is, I think, imperative of all of us in the West to make sure that everyone is aware of what's going on in Belarus, that we are talking about, as she said in previous comments at the last outpost of tyranny, that we need to reveal to everyone the kinds of actions that the government takes against its own people and that we need to make sure that people are fully aware that the isolation of that country is not something that we in the West have chosen for it. We have tried to engage that country. Instead, the isolation is a self-imposed one by a regime that seems to be increasingly insecure in its position and that thinks that the rest of the world is out to get it. We're not out to get Belarus. We are interested in promoting freedom and democracy in Belarus.

And Steve Hadley, the National Security Advisor, in India was asked today about this issue and just to quote him, he said the international community ought to be talking about Belarus and sending a firm message and insisting that there be a free and fair election there and doing everything we can to encourage that. And as he mentioned, that's certainly the message that the President delivered when he met with the two widows earlier in the week.

Our leverage is not enormous. I'm not going to stand here and pretend that we have the ability to affect the outcome of what happens there. That will be largely in the hands of the people in Belarus. But I think the international community does have a responsibility to do all it can to make sure that people are aware of what's going on. We also have a commitment to hold Belarus to the commitments it's made under the OSCE. Belarus is a member of the OSCE. They do have long-term observers in place from ODIHR, which is the election-monitoring organization of the OSCE.

And so, we are there to monitor the elections, as we have every right to, since Belarus is a member of the OSCE, and we will certainly, through ODIHR and the OSCE, be crystal clear in what we think is going on there.

MODERATOR: We have a follow-up here.

QUESTION: Given that it appears it's a foregone conclusion what the result of this election is going to be, what -- can you give us an idea of what then?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: Well, we don't necessarily need to wait until March 19th if the Government of Belarus decides not to wait until March 19th to demonstrate its true colors. If forced to, we can look into taking some of the actions that we and the Europeans have been considering and contemplating before the election day.

We -- I have not yet come to conclusions about the election, though your point is certainly a valid one, which is the predominance -- the predominant sense is that the election is turning out to be exactly what we feared it would be, that this regime does not want to allow a free and fair election, does not want to create a level playing field, does not want to give other candidates a possibility to campaign in a free and fair process.

The candidates have been given opportunities to air comments, 30-minute spots for the candidacies. And I would note that Mr. Kozulin, who was beaten up and arrested today, that his segment that aired this evening on Belarusian television was edited. That is also something that one would think the government would not engage in.

I would also just add that there have been arrests of a number of NGO activists. The detentions were done last week, right before I arrived, of an organization called Partnership and then there were the rumors -- well, not rumors -- allegations that the Belarusian Security Services issued yesterday that NGO groups were organizing a coup and planning violent activity. The detentions are groundless. They're baseless. I insisted that the authorities release those people and I regret to say, that to the best of my knowledge, they have not yet been released.

And the allegations that were made yesterday about NGO plotting of some coup or takeover are also just completely ridiculous and demonstrate, I think, that the regime is engaged in the kinds of activities that we all feared it would be.

MODERATOR: We'll go to the third row here.

QUESTION: Harry Dunphy, AP. Will you be taking up the issues of Belarus and Ukraine when the Russian Foreign Minister visits and can you say anything about that visit?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: The visit will -- Foreign Minister Lavrov arrives Monday evening, I believe, is the latest schedule. And I wouldn’t want to preview all the issues that are expected to come up, but I think issues such as this would certainly likely appear on the agenda.

MODERATOR: We'll go to Italy here.

QUESTION: Giampiero Gramaglia, Italian news agency, ANSA. A follow-up to the question of my AP colleague: how could you define the cooperation or the dialogue you have so far with Russia on Belarus and Ukraine?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: We have discussed both issues with the Russians. We've had, I think, good exchanges with them on these issues. We, I think, want to reinforce that as another member of the OSCE, we expect all OSCE members to insist that Belarus abide by its commitments under the OSCE. And so, we look forward to further discussions with our Russian counterparts on both the Belarus election, as well as the Ukrainian election.

Having traveled to Moscow regularly, since I assumed this job last July, I've had discussions with Russian officials, as well as people outside the Russian Government about the situation in Belarus, and have been struck that there is a sense in Moscow among many, in many circles, that the current situation is far from ideal. And we will continue to follow up with the Russians on that.

MODERATOR: Another question from Poland.

QUESTION: President George Bush is going to shake hands with President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf this week, later this week. How would you answer those who say that the United States has double standards, comparing Pakistan and Belarus?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: As an official not responsible for Pakistan, it's hard for me to make any specific comparisons to the two. One difference is clear, though, that President Musharraf has indicated a strong interest and willingness to work with us and engage with us. We have a full dialogue with him. President Lukashenko has demonstrated the exact opposite, no interest whatsoever or willingness to engage. We have made efforts over the years, called step by step and selective engagement overtures to him that require actions on his part. He's manifested no interest whatsoever, so I think the two are very different, very different situations.

QUESTION: Giampiero Gramaglia again. So, if President Lukashenko would be interested in a dialogue with the United States, it could be fine for United States -- that he's still in power?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY KRAMER: His pressing interest now, in light of things that he has done, not least responsibility -- at least among people in his government for the disappearances of a number of individuals, expressing interest now, I think, would be viewed a bit suspiciously. He needs to take actions to demonstrate that he's serious about working with the West.

And the actions that he's taking are moving in exactly the wrong, opposite direction, so for him to -- if he were to come out tomorrow and express interest, I think no one would find that very believable and some comments that he made today would just reinforce the point that I've made, which is that he is not serious and, in fact, continues to level accusations against the West and the United States that are completely ridiculous and frankly, offensive.

I would also just mention that the arrest today and the beating of Mr. Kozulin that took place -- reportedly, one of the assailants was a Col. Demitri Papachenko, who is the same person who has been implicated by international investigations for direct involvement in the disappearances and killings of the regime critics back in 1999 and 2000 -- striking that he was responsible for the all Belarusian congress -- responsible for security at the all Belarusian congress that was held today.