EU impose sanctions on 20 Belarus politicians over suspected fraud
The Europ e a n Union has agreed to impose sanctions on up to 20 senior Belarus officials suspected of election fraud and a violent crackdown on protesters, and is likely to p u t P r e s i d e n t Al e x a n d e r Lukashenko on its list at some point, the bloc’s foreign ministers have said.
Belarus’s authoritarian president of 26 years has faced weeks of protests since he was re- elected to a sixth term on August 9 with 80% of the vote. The opposition says the poll was rigged and the EU, among others, disputes the results.
In the first four days of demonstrations t hat f ollowed, s e c u r i t y f o r c e s d e t a i n e d a l most 7,0 0 0 p e o p l e a n d injured hundreds with rubber bullets, stun grenades and clubs. At least three protesters died.
Around 180 people were detained as the rallies continued on Thursday. “We have general agreement on how the list will be structured and who will be, more or less, on the list,” Czech foreign mini s t e r Tomas Pet r i c e k t ol d reporters at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Berlin.
The technicalities involved i n l e g a l l y f i n a l i s i n g t h e l i s t will not be concluded f or at l east another week.
Asked whether t he Belarus president will be hit by a travel ban and asset freeze, Mr Petricek said: “Lukashenko should be on the list. The question is whether in the first stage, or a later stage if there is no progress.”
Lithuanian foreign minister Linas Linkevicius agreed that Mr Lukashenko should be on the list now, but acknowledged there may be “tactical reasons” to keep him off. Lithuania had tabled its own list of 118 officials.
S ome countries prefer a gradual approach that would ratchet up pressure by adding more names progressively if Mr Lukashenko failed to enter talks with the opposition.
Greece and Cyprus are also believed to be demanding that sanctions be slapped on Turkey for what they say is its illegal energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean before the two countries agree to the measures against Belarus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday t hat he was ready t o send police to Belarus if protests there turn violent, but sees no such need yet. Mr Linkevicius said that “we cannot exclude this invasion”, and that the EU must also send a clear warning to Moscow.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she stressed the importance of Belarus’ sovereignty in a recent call with Putin.
“I hope that such a unit won’t be deployed,” she told reporters in Berlin.