Belarus

Belarus is a country in Eastern Europe and former member of the USSR. The capital of Belarus is Minsk.

Politics

Relations with the U.S. have been strained, after the air force shot down a hot-air balloon which strayed into Belarus airspace, killing two Americans. The government also confiscated the U.S. Ambassador's residence, leading to the U.S. withdrawal of its embassy personnel.

In October 2004, the U.S. Congress passed, and the President signed, the Belarus Democracy Act, designed to promote democratization. In signing the act, President Bush noted that the authorities were turning Belarus into "a regime of repression in the heart of Europe," and set out the U.S. policy of working "with our allies and partners to assist those seeking to return Belarus to its rightful place among the Euro-Atlantic community of democracies." Together with the EU, the U.S. has imposed targeted sanctions against Belarusian officials implicated in human rights abuses and election fraud, including travel restrictions and targeted financial sanctions imposed in 2006 after the deeply flawed presidential election. [1]

Environment

The most serious environmental issue in Belarus results from the accident on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. About 70% of the nuclear fallout from the plant landed on Belarusian territory. [2]

Many villages were abandoned. Resettlement and medical costs were substantial and long-term. As a matter of policy, the government is now resettling this land and promoting agricultural production in the contaminated areas. [3] As of mid-2005, fewer than 50 deaths have been directly attributed to radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, with almost all the deaths being among highly exposed rescue workers, according to a new United Nations report. [4]

External links

• Background Note: Belarus - U.S. State Department
• U.N. Revises Chernobyl Assessment