Statement by the Press Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, on the Release of Mr. Andrei Sannikov, Opposition Party Presidential Candidate in Belarus

April 16, 2012
Japanese

Japan welcomes the release on Saturday, April 14, of Mr. Andrei Sannikov, Leader of the "European Belarus", who stood as an opposition candidate in the presidential election in Belarus held in December 2010.
Closely following the Presidential election, the Government of Japan expressed concern over the detention of the presidential candidates as well as many others, and urged the authorities of the Republic of Belarus to ensure principles of democracy.
The Government of Japan hopes that the development of Belarus takes place in line with principles of democracy, human rights and other relevant principles. In order to encourage democratization, the Government of Japan continues to extend assistance and approaches to Belarus, while continuing to monitor closely the situation in Belarus.

(*The foregoing is a provisional translation. The date indicated above denotes the date of issue of the original version in Japanese.)

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