BELARUS. LAWMAKER: DEATH PENALTY CANNOT BE SCRAPPED ‘IN ONE GO’

April 17, 2008: the head of the lower house of Belarus' parliament said that "the death penalty is impossible to abolish in one go" and called for a public debate on the proposed abolition of capital punishment in the country.
Last week, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) urged Belarus to immediately declare a moratorium on the death penalty.
"Yes, maybe time has come to discuss this issue. Let's join forces to change public opinion so that the environment for such a decision is ready," lower house chairman Vadim Popov told a news conference in Minsk.
"Let's see how the people react to this issue," he said. "They make complaints to Belarus, but why don't they make complaints to the United States, where the death penalty still exists?" he said in reference to PACE's appeal. (Sources: Russia & CIS Military Newswire, 18/04/2008)