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According to Anatol Glaz, spokesman for the Minsk Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the measure was adopted on the recommendation of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Extremism and Terrorism.
The spokesperson did not say exactly how many journalists were involved, but several foreign outlets, including the British broadcaster BBC, AFP France, Reuters, the US news agency AP, German ARD television and German radio Deutsche Welle, and Freedom Radio, based in the United States. The operating license of several journalists in Belarus has been revoked.
Tacjana Melnicuk told AFP that she had been asked to go to the Foreign Ministry, where she was told that her license as a BBC correspondent had been revoked, as was that of another colleague. She was also asked to return her accreditation card.
Alexander Lukashenko, who won his sixth term in the disputed election with more than 80 percent of the vote, faces unprecedented protests. The opposition, whose leader, Sviatlana Cihanousskaya, fled to Lithuania, organized two mass demonstrations on August 16 and 23 and is preparing for another large-scale movement on Sunday.
The European Union has rejected the election results, is preparing sanctions against top Belarusian officials and has asked Lukashenko to enter into a dialogue with the opposition.
Lukashenko, for his part, rejects all concessions and mentions a conspiracy organized by the West to overthrow him.
In the latest protests in which police forces were deployed, three people were killed, dozens were injured and more than 7,000 occurred.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated on Saturday that he recognized the election result. “Nothing in the world is ideal,” Putin said in an interview with state television. He expressed doubts whether all those who questioned the election result were fair.
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