President George W. Bush greets Irina Krasovskaya, left, and Svyatlana Zavadskaya, widows of a pro-democracy businessman and an independent journalist who "disappeared" in Belarus in 1999 and 2000 respectively. During a meeting on Monday, February 27, 2006 at the White House, the President discussed the state of democracy and human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the March 19 Belarusian presidential election, and stressed his commitment to support the people of Belarus in their effort to determine their own future. The United States is deeply concerned about the Belarusian government's conduct leading up to the election, harassment of civil society, and failure to investigate seriously the cases of the disappeared.