June 14, U.S. President Barack Obama extended the sanctions, which were imposed against Belarusian officials on June 16, 2006, for another year. This was reported in the White House. "The actions and policies of certain members of the Belarusian government and other persons continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States," he said.
"In 2011, the government of Belarus continued repression of political opposition, civil society and independent media. Government used to arbitrarily arrest, detain and imprison people for criticizing officials, or for participating in demonstrations," said Barack Obama.
According to him, the Belarusian authorities have imprisoned at least one human rights activist on false charges, while independent media have not been allowed to cover the events. "These actions show that the government of Belarus has made additional steps backward in the development of democratic governance and respect for human rights," said the American president.
As Telegraf previously reported, in 2006, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, his Assistant for National Security Affairs Viktor Lukashenko, Chairman of the Central Election Commission Lidia Yermoshina, Minister of Justice Viktor Golovanov, Assistant to the President for Special Assignments Viktor Sheiman, SWAT commander Dmitri Pavlichenko, KGB chief Stepan Sukhorenko, Chairman of Belteleradiocompany Alexander Zimovski, Interior Minister Vladimir Naumov and deputy head of Presidential Administration Natalia Petkevich.
