[ad_1]
Massive demonstrations against the ruler Alexander Lukashenko have been taking place in Belarus for months. The regime reacts severely. Hundreds of protesters were arrested again in the last demonstrations of the weekend. Now the EU is responding to the ongoing violence in the country.
If the situation in the country does not improve, the EU is ready to take further restrictive measures, according to a statement adopted at a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg. In addition to high-ranking officials, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is also specifically mentioned as a person who should be affected.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) had previously spoken out in favor of imposing punitive measures against Lukashenko. “The violence exercised by the Lukashenko regime continues,” Maas told the EU foreign ministers meeting. Therefore, he proposed “the implementation of a new package of sanctions.” “Lukashenko should also be among those affected.”
So far, Lukashenko has not been one of 40 people the EU has sanctioned for fraudulent elections or for violently repressing peaceful protests. The reason given is that sanctions against Lukashenko personally could complicate diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict and deprive the EU of the opportunity to re-adjust its course.
Since the presidential elections on August 9, Belarus has held protests and strikes against the authoritarian head of state, who has been in power for 26 years. The triggers are accusations of fraud against the elections, after which Lukashenko was declared the winner with 80.1 percent of the vote. The protests left several dead, hundreds injured and more than 10,000 arrests.
