As delivered by Ambassador Ian Kelly
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
September 6, 2012
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I want to thank my Belarusian colleague and note that we take his concerns seriously about the U.S. electoral process and we convey them to our capital. Of course, we reserve our right to return to this issue.
However, by noting that I take these concerns seriously, I know we want to imply equivalence with the actions of the Belarusian Government in electoral matters, including the arrest of presidential candidates, the de-registration of parliamentary candidates and the refusal to allow members of the opposition to participate in election committees, actions which are designed to stifle dissent and limit opposition to its rule.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
