Belarus president is barred from EU

LUXEMBOURG — The European Union told Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday that he was unwelcome in the 25-nation bloc after his re-election last month in a vote observers said was rigged.

It also imposed a visa ban on 30 other top officials in Belarus seen as having a hand in the government's election campaign crackdown on the opposition and its supporters.

Officials said further measures may follow, including more visa bans and a freeze on assets belonging to Lukashenko and other Belarus officials.

Belarus said it would place a visa ban of its own on EU and U.S. officials. In a statement, the foreign ministry in Minsk, the Belarus capital, called EU and U.S. criticism of Lukashenko "uncivilized . . . shortsighted and ineffective." It did not say which officials would be banned.

The visa ban marked the first time the EU has prohibited the head of state of a neighboring nation from visiting the union. It has taken the same steps against the leaders of Zimbabwe and Myanmar.

The EU foreign ministers, in a statement after a meeting, urged Lukashenko "not to penalize or discriminate against those exercising their right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, including the leaders of the opposition parties."

Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, who chaired the meeting, said the EU "demanded the immediate release and full rehabilitation of all political detainees, as well as respect for democratic rights."

She said the EU also agreed to sponsor independent media broadcasts into Belarus from neighboring nations such as EU member Poland to offset Lukashenko propaganda.

The EU said Lukashenko and the other 30 officials are "responsible for the violations of international electoral standards and international human rights law, as well as for the crackdown on civil society and democratic opposition."

Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said the move "sends a strong message" that the EU is targeting the Belarus leadership, not its people.

"We want to keep the people of Belarus on our side, so we will try to cultivate relations with people of the opposition," he told reporters.

Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Swoboda said he wanted more Belarus officials on the list.

"I am not completely satisfied because the list should be bigger," Swoboda said. "We want to ask the (Belarus) opposition to ask for an assessment" of the list.