WASHINGTON - The United States on Friday denounced a crackdown on protesters in Belarus, demanding they be freed "without delay," and vowed to impose sanctions on officials in Minsk.
"We strongly condemn the actions by Belarussian security services in the early-morning hours of March 24," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
The spokesman said Washington would follow the European Union and impose "targeted travel restrictions and financial sanctions" that could target officials up to Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.
Early Friday, Belarus authorities quashed an unprecedented mass protest against Lukashenko, smashing a tent camp and arresting hundreds of opposition supporters after the authoritarian leader won a new term in office in Sunday elections that Washington denounced as fraudulent.
"We urge all members of the international community to demand that authorities in Belarus respect the rights of their own citizens to express themselves peacefully and condemn any and all abuses," said McClellan.
"The United States calls on authorities in Belarus to release without delay the hundreds of citizens who have been detained, not only in the past 24 hours but in recent days and weeks, simply for expressing their political views," he said.
Washington had threatened new sanctions against Lukashenko's government on Monday and called for a new election.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which sent 400 monitors to the former Soviet republic, earlier condemned the conduct of Sunday's ballot as did the European Union and NATO.
03/24/2006 15:31 GMT