Currency crisis

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday said he was ready to expel some Russian media outlets for their unfavorable coverage of the country's economic crisis.

"Russian media were the most hysterical," Lukashenko told a government meeting on the former Soviet republic's currency crisis. "Do everything to make sure those media are no longer present on our territory."

Earlier this week, Minsk devalued the Belarusian ruble by more than a third against the dollar. Lukashenko blamed Russian media for sowing panic among Belarusians which he said led to panic buying.

Pressure to negotiate

The crisis has put more pressure on the authoritarian regime to make concessions to the West in exchange for financial aid. On a visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Lukashenko gave a small sign that he may be willing to negotiate with the West.

"They're still shouting 'Free the political prisoners!'" he said, referring to calls from Western governments to release the political prisoners. "But all of them have already been released, apart from two. Probably we will release them too. There's no point in spending government money on them in prison."

Several opposition presidential candidates were arrested after massive protests against the internationally condemned elections late last year. Many were given suspended sentences, but a Minsk court on Thursday sentenced two - Nikolai Statkevich and Dmitry Uss - to six and five-and-a-half years in prison respectively, for organizing mass riots.

A statement from the White House on Friday condemned the sentencing.

"In a major step backward for democracy in Belarus, their trials were clearly politically motivated and failed to meet even the most minimal standards required of a fair and independent judiciary," the statement said.

The European Union called the sentences "harsh" and said it was "unacceptable" to have political prisoners in Europe in the 21st century.

Author: Andrew Bowen (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Susan Houlton