We’re on your side, PM tells Belarus politician
Boris Johnson pledges to support exiled opposition leader against repressive Lukashenko regime
‘The UK stands in solidarity with the people of Belarus and will continue to take action to support them’
BORIS JOHNSON promised the exiled opposition leader of Belarus further support in her struggle against the oppressive regime but stopped short of committing to further sanctions against president Alexander Lukashenko.
The Prime Minister told Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya that the British Government was “very much on your side, we are very much supportive of what you are doing”.
The exiled politician made her visit to Downing Street yesterday after Vitaly Shishov, another opposition activist, was found dead and Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, a Belarusian Olympic runner said she was seeking refuge in Poland for her own safety.
According to Downing Street, Mr Johnson “outlined the steps the UK has taken to hold the regime to account, including placing sanctions on Lukashenko himself” over human rights violations but the statement offered no details of specific additional action.
“The Prime Minister and Mrs Tsikhanouskaya agreed that the British and Belarusian people share fundamental values such as a belief in democracy, human rights and rule of law.
“The Prime Minister said the UK stands in solidarity with the people of Belarus and will continue to take action to support them.”
It added that Britain was tripling financial support for Belarusian civil society groups this year.
“It is very important to understand that one of the most powerful countries in the world is supporting Belarus,” Mrs Tsikhanouskaya said after the meeting.
She said the death of Mr Shishov, the founder of the Belarusian House NGO, was suspicious but that she did not want to pre-empt the results of the Ukrainian police investigation.
Mr Shishov was found hanged in a park near his home in Kyiv early yesterday. Ukrainian police said they were investigating all avenues of inquiry.
Olympic officials meanwhile came under intensifying pressure to suspend Belarus over its treatment of Tsimanouskaya, who sought the protection of Japanese police after team officials tried to force her on to a flight home on Sunday.
Tsimanouskaya, 24, has been granted a humanitarian visa and is expected to stay at the Polish embassy until she leaves Japan today.
But the furore deepened yesterday as Belarusian officials reportedly told her mother she had been recruited by foreign spies. The Global Athlete, a pressure group representing the interests of international sports stars, said the treatment of Tsimanouskaya by the Belarus National Olympic Committee (NOC) was “yet another example of the alarming athlete abuse occurring in Belarus”.
“For a year, Belarusian athletes and the Belarus Sport Solidarity Federation have been pleading with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to fully suspend their own Belarus NOC,” the statement added.
“To date, the IOC’S response and actions towards Belarus have been cursory at best.”
The IOC has so far demanded that Belarus submit a full report on the situation.
“We need to establish the full facts,” a spokesman for the IOC said. “That can take time. In the meantime, our first concern is for the welfare of the athlete.”
Tsimanouskaya was kicked out of the team over the weekend after she posted a video criticising its coaching team.
The British Government imposed escalating sanctions on Mr Lukashenko and his close associates after his security forces launched a bloody crackdown on opposition protests in the wake of last August’s disputed presidential elections.