Belarusian election commission chair expects OSCE to be biased in monitoring elections
MINSK. Aug 14 (Interfax) - Belarusian Central Elections Commission Chair Lydia Yermoshina expects monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to be biased in assessing the upcoming parliamentary elections because of a diplomatic spat between Belarus and Sweden.
"Mr. Eriksson [Stefan Eriksson, a former Swedish ambassador to Belarus] actively interfered in the monitoring process in all electoral campaigns in this country. Surely I think this conflict will have its impact," Yermoshina told journalists in Minsk on Tuesday.
Monitors from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) are usually biased in monitoring election campaigns in Belarus, but this time around they will be predisposed even more unfavorably, she said.
It was reported earlier that the Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced on August 8 that it would recall its embassy from Stockholm and told Sweden to recall its diplomats from Minsk by August 30. Belarus accused ex-Swedish Ambassador Eriksson of destructive activities and support for the opposition.
Belarusian media reported on July 4 that a lightweight civilian airplane operated by Swedish citizens crossed the Belarusian airspace from Lithuania and dropped teddy bears carrying labels in defense for free speech and human rights in Belarus over Minsk and Ivenets, a town in the Minsk region. The stunt was dubbed as the 'Teddy-Bear Airdrop' and led to the dismissals of the chiefs of the Belarusian Air Defense Forces and the Border Committee. The Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) has invited three Swedish citizens to testify on the matter and arrested two Belarusian citizens, one of whom posted photos of the teddy bears on the Internet and the other supposedly planned to rent an apartment out to the Swedish pilots.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on August 9 that the Swedish Embassy could have been linked to the organizers of the Teddy-Bear Airdrop.
"When we started the investigation - and the ambassador should not be telling us he was protecting democracy here - we see that those who came here to prepare the border crossing worked together with the embassy. We have proofs. The investigators have presented them. Therefore we have yet to find out what role the former Swedish embassy played in this incident," he said.