The European Union is preparing sanctions against officials in Belarus who are responsible for the deadly pressure on anti-Protestant elections, said Foreign Minister Josep Borrell.
The green light was given by the 27 EU foreign ministers during a video conference in Brussels on Friday, while protests in Belarus over the controversial elections on August 9 continued for a sixth day.
“The EU will now launch a process of sanctions against those responsible for violence, arrests and fraud in connection with the elections,” Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde said after the talks on emergency.
The individuals who should be sanctioned include those responsible for police violence and election fraud.
President Alexander Lukashenko, 65, demanded a victory extension for a sixth term, but is now facing the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule.
His 37-year-old rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, currently in exile in neighbors Lithuania, has called for more intense protests over the weekend and a resurgence of votes.
At least two Protestants died and about 6,700 were arrested this week. Angry Protestants, some of whom accused the police of torture while in custody, claimed the vote was rigged.
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Belarus frees Protestants before EU talks on sanctions |
Prior to the EU summit, there were calls for action by various members of the bloc, in particular the neighbors of Belarus, Poland and Lithuania.
Poland, Latvia and Lithuania say they are ready to act as mediators in an attempt to resolve the post-election crisis, following a question-and-answer session in Brussels that said “neither free nor fair”.
The EU imposed sanctions on Belarus for the first time in 2004. It strictly enforced them in 2011 on human rights abuses and democratic norms, including voting rules.
Many were lifted after Lukashenko released political prisoners in 2016. But an arms embargo remains, as sanctions were also imposed on four people over the unresolved disappearances of two opposition activists, a journalist and a businessman, years ago.
Enormous protests continue
Lukashenko denies electoral fraud. His government released many arrested protesters on Friday after issuing a rare public apology.
However, citizens took to the streets in the capital, Minsk, and other cities on Friday Tikhanovskaya called for massive weekend rallies to address the long-standing leader of the new election’s contested claim.
“We must stop the violence on the streets of Belarusian cities. I call on the authorities to stop this and get to the negotiating table,” he said. Tikhanovskaya said in a video address.
“I urge the mayors of all cities to organize peaceful mass rallies on August 15 and 16.”
Employers from several factories went on strike on Friday, causing Lukashenko to take part in the battle, saying only “saving the factories will feed their families”.
“The crowds swell here at the minute on the Independence Square in Minsk,” said Step Vaessen of Al Jazeera, reporting from the capital.
She said workers from a tractor factory on the outskirts of the city left work and marched towards the city center, leading to tensions when military police arrived.
“People were really scared,” she said. “But then, surprisingly, these soldiers put down their shields, which led to very emotional scenes with women hugging them and men really screaming.”
A protest rallyed by members of the Belarussian Interior Ministry at the Independence Square in Minsk [Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters]
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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