Paris, 13/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - During a meeting in Paris last week attended above all by the Parliamentary Troika that supports the democratic process in Belarus - European Parliament and Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe - it was decided that the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights should send an observation mission to the presidential elections scheduled to take place in Belarus on 9 September (with, if necessary, a second round on 23 September). Participants confirmed their attachment to several fundamental principles (mainly transparency of the electoral process, non-discrimination of the opposition and access to the media). They noted that insufficient democratic progress has been made in Belarus concerning the presidential elections and above all noted that the opposition was ignored in the composition of 160 electoral committees, and that acts of intimidation towards the opposition continue.