Benedikt Haller: “Heading OSCE Office in Belarus is a challenge”

Benedikt Haller, the new head of the OSCE Office in Minsk, arrives in Belarus in the middle of January.

He told in an interview to BelaPAN he would assume his office “just after a session of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna” scheduled for the middle of January.

Benedikt Haller noted it was great pleasure for him to receive this appointment. According to him, he is interested in the situation in the region and keeps a close eye the events in the country since he worked in the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Moscow in 1988–1988. He hasn’t visited Belarus as a diplomat, but paid several visits to other post-Soviet countries, in particular he observed elections in Moldova.

“Heading the OSCE Office in Belarus is a challenge, but the experience of my predecessor and results of his work show that any difficulties can be overcome,” Haller said.

Before his appointment to Minsk, Haller was Special Envoy for Anti-Semitism and Holocaust Affairs at the German Foreign Ministry.

We remind that the latest head of the office, Hans-Jochen Schmidt complete his diplomatic mission before his term expired. Representatives of the Belarusian opposition expressed their disappointment with actions and statements by the diplomat.

There’s information about at least four complaints against Schmidt, filed to the OSCE central office in Vienne, from representatives of “Young Front”, United Democratic Forces, a former officer, and his former driver.

Hans-Jochen Schmidt told earlier in an interview to BelaPAN that “fundamental radical changes” mustn’t have been demanded from the Belarusian government. He also noted focusing only on human rights contradicts the OSCE’s interests.

Professor of Passau University Martin Finke (Germany) visited Belarus on June 8–10. He studied the case of the entrepreneurs from Vaukavysk in secrecy. The expert, who came incognito, concluded the case of political prisoner Mikalai Autukhovich didn’t have any violations. The conclusion was sent to embassies of European countries, accredited in Minsk.

As it turned out later, the visit of German expert Martin Finke to Minsk was initiated by Hans-Jochen Schmidt. The very fact of this visit was revealed after the expert had finished studying the case of Mikalai Autukhovich. Human rights activists note Martin Finke didn’t meet with the person under investigation and his lawyer during his visit to Belarus.