Milinkievič at a meeting with Lech Kaczyński , president of Poland, March 2006 The leader of the main opposition party, Alaksandar Milinkievič has been jailed for 15 days in Belarus for taking part in an 'unsanctioned rally'. The march, held in the centre of Minsk , marked the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster . Held every year, it is a traditional forum for expressing political opposition. At least 6,000 protesters took part, accompanied by riot police. Conflicts between the opposition party and the government, led by Alexander Lukashenko, have been numerous since Lukashenko was re-elected as President on March 19, 2006. The opposition party has organised numerous demonstrations and rallies, and over 1,000 of their members being arrested. Milinkievič has said that he has received "a political sentence". Other opposition leaders Alexander Bukhvostov and Sergei Kalyakin were also jailed on the same day. US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has said the US "condemns this act" and called upon Belarus to act within accepted international principles on the treatment of political opposition. NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has also condemned the action.
Milinkievič at a meeting with , president of Poland, March 2006 The leader of the main opposition party, has been jailed for 15 days in Belarus for taking part in an 'unsanctioned rally'. The march, held in the centre of , marked the 20th anniversary of the . Held every year, it is a traditional forum for expressing political opposition. At least 6,000 protesters took part, accompanied by riot police. Conflicts between the opposition party and the government, led by Alexander Lukashenko, have been numerous since Lukashenko was as President on March 19, 2006. The opposition party has organised numerous demonstrations and rallies, and over 1,000 of their members being arrested. Milinkievič has said that he has received "a political sentence". Other opposition leaders and were also jailed on the same day. US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has said the US "condemns this act" and called upon Belarus to act within accepted international principles on the treatment of political opposition. NATO chief has also condemned the action.
D
Lech Kaczyński
D
Alaksandar Milinkievič
D
Minsk
D
Chernobyl nuclear disaster
D
re-elected
R
Alexander Bukhvostov and Sergei Kalyakin
and
D
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer