IREX kicked out of Belarus

[curt fredric woolhiser]

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 129, Part II, 10 July 2003


BELARUSIAN AUTHORITIES CLOSE IREX OFFICES. The Belarusian Foreign
Ministry has notified the Minsk office of the Washington-based
International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) of its decision to
deny IREX an extension on its accreditation, which expires on 7
August, Belapan reported on 9 July. The news agency was quoting an 8
July statement issued by IREX. Officials have cited irregularities
discovered by the State Control Committee during its inspection of
the office's activities. Belarusian cabinet ministers also struck
IREX off their list of government-approved U.S. assistance programs,
the ministry said. The government removed IREX from the list without
explanation, according to IREX representatives. The State Control
Committee's findings are "wrong in their facts and wrong as a matter
of law," the IREX statement charged. IREX said the ministry's
decision was politically motivated and added that it should be
regarded as a continuation of the government's policy of restricting
access to independent and unbiased information in Belarus. IREX is a
nonprofit group "specializing in higher education, independent media,
Internet development, and civil-society programs" in the United
States and abroad, according to its website (http://www.irex.org). AM

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