Misplaced Pages

Belarus–Netherlands relations

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ikip (talk | contribs) at 15:33, 16 April 2009. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 15:33, 16 April 2009 by Ikip (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
An editor has nominated this article for deletion.
You are welcome to participate in the deletion discussion, which will decide whether or not to retain it.Feel free to improve the article, but do not remove this notice before the discussion is closed. For more information, see the guide to deletion.
Find sources: "Belarus–Netherlands relations" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR%5B%5BWikipedia%3AArticles+for+deletion%2FBelarus%E2%80%93Netherlands+relations%5D%5DAFD
Bilateral relations
Belarus-Netherlands relations
Map indicating locations of Belarus and Netherlands

Belarus
Netherlands

Template:Rescue

Belarus-Netherlands relations are foreign relations between Belarus and the Netherlands. Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1994. Belarus has an honorary consulate in The Hague. The Netherlands is represented in Belarus through its embassy in Warsaw (Poland) and through an honorary consulate in Minsk. Both countries are full members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

There is no direct contact between the two countries at the government level, since the European Union decided in 1997 that such a level of contact lends legitimacy to a government the EU deems not democratically elected. Until 13 October 2008, Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko as well as other members of government were barred from acquiring visa for travel in countries belonging to the European Union. On Dutch request, the European Union decided in October 2008 to soften the visa restrictions; certain other restrictions remain, such as the freezing of Belarus financial assets, and the Dutch government objects to the normalization of relations between Belarus and the European Union.

A particular problem is a development program, "Eastern Partnership," proposed by the European Union, which would extend aid and trade benefits from the EU to six former Soviet republics, including Belarus. The Dutch remain opposed to inviting president Lukashenko to attend a summit in May in Vienna where the program was to be launched; such an invitation, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen contends, "would trivialize his dismal human rights record."

While there are no direct governmental contacts, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs says there are no "intensive cultural relations" between the two countries (in fact, Belarus does not even qualify for Dutch financial assistance), there do exist relations between the two countries on various levels. For instance, for many years children suffering from the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster had been vacationing abroad, some 1500 to 2000 of which annually in the Netherlands. In 2008, Belarus refused to give visa to those children after a few orphaned children had been kept abroad by guest families in the United States and Italy. Stichting Rusland Kinderhulp, the organization responsible for the housing of those children in the Netherlands, was exerting pressure on the Belarus embassy in The Hague to re-open the borders.

Events surrounding the Belarusian presidential election, 2006, which were widely criticized by European countries and the US, have added tension to already difficult relationships between the countries. A few Dutch politicians who were to have observed the elections but whose visa were revoked protested at the Belarus border. The fallout from the elections led to the arrest of many Belarusian students, and some of them lost their passports. A request by a Dutch political party to the Dutch government to relax passport requirements for such students was denied by the Dutch Minister of Integration and Immigration, Rita Verdonk, though Verdonk did promise to exert political pressure on the Belarus government if they refused to grant travel permits to those students. The Netherlands did attempt to pressure the Belarus government; for example, the Dutch foreign minister convinced the European Union that a planned Interpol summit planned to take place in Minsk be boycotted. Groups in the Netherlands, meanwhile, protest what they call the lack of political and religious freedom in Belarus, and a member of Parliament asked the government to comment on the Belarus refusal to grant a visa to a Dutch citizen of Belarus descent who wished to visit a sick relative.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wit-Rusland: Betrekkingen met Nederland" (PDF). Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. "Opheffen van het reisverbod voor Wit-Russische functionarissen". Han ten Broeke, VVD. 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. "Spanje wil normale betrekkingen met Wit-Rusland". NRC Handelsblad. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. "Dutch foreign minister doesn't want to shake hands with Europe's last dictator". Charter 97. 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. Wielaard, Robert (2009-03-29). "Dutch remain opposed to EU meeting Belarus leader". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. Fraanje, Wybe (2008-08-16). "De kinderen van Tsjernobyl mogen niet meer op vakantie" (in Dutch). Friesch Dagblad. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. "European Politicians Protest At Belarus Border". Radio Free Europe. 200603-19. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. "Verdonk maakt geen uitzondering voor Wit-Russen". Nieuws.nl. 2006-04-18. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. "EU boycot conferentie Interpol in Wit-Rusland" (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. 2006-05-11. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. "March 25th at Belarussian Embassy in The Hague". PerspectieF. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. "Vragen van het lid Van Baalen (VVD) aan de minister van Buitenlandse Zaken over de weigering van visa aan Nederlanders die een ziek familielid in Wit-Rusland willen bezoeken. (Ingezonden 16 maart 2009); Antwoord". Tweede Kamer. 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2009-04-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

Belarus Foreign relations of Belarus
Africa Coat of arms of Belarus
Americas
Asia
Europe
Multilateral relations
Diplomatic missions
Netherlands Foreign relations of the Netherlands
Africa
Americas
Asia
Europe
Oceania
Related
Categories:
Belarus–Netherlands relations Add topic