Belarus vandals demolish rare US monument

Jan 31, 2007, 10:00 GMT

Minsk - Belarusian vandals destroyed a rare monument erected by the US in the former Soviet republic, the information company BelaPAN reported Wednesday.

A granite bench unveiled during a 1994 visit to the Belarusian village of Kuropaty by then-US President Bill Clinton was smashed into fragments, said Igor Kuznetsov, a historical researcher.

The US government funded the construction of the bench to memorialize brutal Stalinist repressions in Belarus during the 1930s and 1940s. Kuropaty was the Soviet government's preferred execution site for Belarusian political prisoners.

Relations between Minsk and Washington soured in subsequent years. US State Department spokesmen have routinely accused Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko of running the least democratic nation in Europe as a private fiefdom.

For practical purposes, no other US-financed memorials exist in Belarus.

Thieves and vandals had attacked the Clinton-era bench ten times prior to its destruction in January. Raiders in earlier assaults tore off metal decorations and even pried up paving stones.

A cast-iron wreath signifying the undying memory of innocent persons murdered by the Soviet regime was stolen on December 2, Kuznetsov said.

The Belarus police force have never charged a suspect. US diplomats have requested, but failed to receive, a permanent guard for the memorial.