At an extraordinary AAM congress in December 2003, the union's president, Aliaksandr Bukhvostau, and the vice-president, were ousted in circumstances which ultimately seem to have been directed by the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.

Moreover, it was reported to the IMF that employers not only interfered in the selection of delegates to the Congress, promoting opponents of the then leadership, but were also apparently present at the Congress, checking on whether "their" candidates voted against the old leadership.

Against this backdrop, the IMF Executive Committee in May 2004 unanimously decided to suspend the AAM from IMF affiliation and to recommend to the IMF Central Committee to expel the union.

The IMF is not the only organisation to raise concerns about government interference in Belarus. An ILO Commission has reported that trade union independence has been and continues to be the subject of significant interference on the part of Belarus Government authorities.

IMF President Jürgen Peters said at today’s Central Committee meeting: “Expelling a union from the IMF community of solidarity, must be the last resort. But we can not tolerate a trade union moving in an undemocratic direction.”

The IMF has one remaining Belarus affiliate, REPAM.