March 20, 2003

Mr. Valentin Rybakov

Chargé d'Affaires ad interim

Embassy of the Republic of Belarus

1619 New Hampshire Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20009

Your Excellency:

The New Atlantic Initiative at the American Enterprise Institute calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the protesters who were imprisoned on March 12 during a peaceful demonstration against the deteriorating economic social conditions in Belarus.  Among the detainees is Mr. Andrei Sannikov, the well-respected former deputy minister of foreign affairs of free Belarus, and participant in our conference last year: Axis of Evil: Belarus-the Missing Link.

The imprisonment of the Charter 97 activists by the Belarusian government evokes the darkest days of communist terror and proves yet again that "President" Alexander Lukashenko is an embarrassment to your country and to Europe. 

As other opposition marches are planned for March 25 and April 26, we call on your country's authorities to permit the peaceful assembly of civic groups wishing to express their dissatisfaction with being ruled by Europe's last dictator and his thugs.

We look forward to cooperating with the authorities of Belarus in the future, when respect for human rights is restored there and your country makes efforts to join the family of free, democratic nations.

Sincerely,

Radek Sikorski

Executive Director, The New Atlantic Initiative