A REQUEST from the EU to send a fact-finding human rights mission to Belarus was yesterday bluntly refused by its President, Mr Alexander Lukashenko. The request, which will be made again in writing, was put by the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, at an EU Troika meeting here with Mr Lukashenko. The meeting was described in the language of diplomacy as "very blunt".
Responding to EU concerns at the dictatorial powers transferred to him in a recent constitutional referendum, Mr Lukashenko said the Union did not understand the realities on the ground.
He dismissed the suggestion that the Union could establish that reality by means of a special mission. It would be "misunderstood", he is reported to have said.
The meeting was also attended by the Italian Prime Minister, Mr Romano Prodi, the Dutch Foreign Minister, Mr Hans van Mierlo, the EU Commissioner for External Relations, Mr Hans van den Broek, and the Minister of State for European Affairs, Mr Gay Mitchell.
Before his meeting with Mr Lukashenko, the Taoiseach admitted to The Irish Times that it might not change the President's mind initially. But he insisted the process of engagement and dialogue with Belarus was important and possible because of the valuable Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe framework. Countries such as Belarus which wanted an association with Europe had to understand that this entailed standards on their behalf, he said. "The very act of refusing [a mission] is in itself acutely embarrassing," he said.
Echoing long-term Irish support for the work of the OSCE, Mr Bruton spoke of the importance of standards-setting organisations in international diplomacy.
"It's important to put the OSCE in its historical context," he said. "It is probable that the Helsinki accords which led to the CSCE [the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, now the OSCE] being founded and led to the Charter 77 and all these other organisations in eastern Europe on human rights contributed to the atmosphere in which the liberation of Eastern Europe took place."
That role was still there for the OSCE, he said. Europe had been transformed in the last decade but there were still blemishes. "One can underestimate the importance of international standards and norms. They may not have immediate effect or be backed immediately by force or direct authority, but they change the atmosphere in a way that makes change possible."
The summit had made clear, he said, its opposition to mass deportations and ethnic cleansing. If former Yugoslav republics wished to join the organisation that was a reality they would have to face.
On the broader need to reassure Russia about NATO enlargement, Mr Bruton insisted this could not be done through a body such as the OSCE which depended on the unanimity of its 54 member states.
