Swedish Social Democrat denied entry to Belarus

The Belarusian Embassy to Stockholm has refused to issue a visa to member of the Arbetarepartiet-Socialdemokraterna Party Mr. Lars-Ove Jansson, who was expected to pay a visit to Brest region.

The entry ban has been immediately condemned by Brest leaders of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Hramada and the regional office of the Independent Trade Union of Belarus.

According to local Hramada leader Mr. Ihar Maslouski, there have been no obstacles to the regional cooperation projects between the Social Democrats of Swedish Varmland province and their partners from Brest region, as their joint programmes dealt with education and culture only.

“Therefore, the denial of a Belarusian visa to Mr. Lars-Ove Jansson with no explanations at all is of great concern and once again contributes to the negative reputation of Belarus”, says Mr. Maslouski. He also said local pro-democratic activists addressed the Belarusian Foreign Ministry with a demand to correct the incident and apologize to the Swedish politician.