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US secretary of state highlights concern about Belarus at meeting in Vilnius

US Secretary of Sate Hillary Clinton has highlighted Belarus and Myanmar as countries where the authorities harshly crack down on dissidents.

Ms. Clinton mentioned Belarus in her address at a Community of Democracies meeting that opened in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Thursday evening, reported the Baltic state’s Delfi news site.

Civil society in the countries aspire to a democratic change, but the authorities harshly crack down on their opponents, she said.

The Community of Democracies meeting in Vilnius has brought together senior government officials, parliamentarians, NGOs, women and youth leaders, and the private sector to advance the shared goals of strengthening civil society and supporting emerging democracies. Taking part are Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis, the EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Jorge Sampaio, UN high commissioner for the alliance of civilizations.

“The environment there [in Belarus] is terrible,” Michael Posner, US assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, said in Washington last Friday ahead of Ms. Clinton’s trip to Europe. “The government has cracked down not only on the political opposition but civil society and a range of others. So we’re deeply concerned about it. We’re going to continue to press. We can’t do it by ourselves, but we need our European partners and we’re pushing.” //BelaPAN