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The EU is extending sanctions against the Minsk regime, and Lukashenko continues to crack down on protests that have been stopped, persecuted and intimidated.
Sanctions were imposed on 29 natural persons and seven legal persons.
The EU is already imposing sanctions on Lukashenko, his son and more than 50 officials from the Minsk regime.
The sanctions prohibit the issuance of visas to blacklisted Belarusian officials and freeze their assets in the bloc.
Among the newest people on the list are entrepreneurs Aliaksandr Shakucin and Mikalay Varabey, whose interests range from construction and agriculture to oil. They are the first entrepreneurs affected by the sanctions regime.
Among other things, sanctions were announced against the Attorney General of Belarus, the Minister of Information, the Deputy Prime Minister and the head of state television.
The sanctions also affected seven companies that supported the Lukashenko regime, three private and four state-owned.
Among them are Beltecheksport, an exporter of arms and military equipment, Dana Holdings / Dana Astra, one of the main real estate developers and builders, Synesis, a monitoring platform for the Belarusian authorities, and several companies responsible for implementing the military equipment policy of the country.
VIDEO: 15/15: First lips – protests in Belarus, incarceration in overcrowded detention centers
The opposition awaits new sanctions
The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said last month that the new sanctions were intended to “affect normal economic activity in the country.”
The decision on the new sanctions was made on Wednesday, the same day that former Belarusian presidential candidate Sviatlana Cichanouskaya arrived in Brussels to recover the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, which the European Parliament awarded this year to the Belarusian opposition.
By withdrawing the award, Cichanouskaya called on Europe to further increase the pressure on the Lukashenko regime.
The Belarusian opposition said on Thursday that it welcomed the new EU sanctions, but expected more systematism from Brussels.
“The inclusion of the regime’s portfolios on sanctions lists is an important step in taking sanctions pressure to a new level. However, we are awaiting a more systematic approach from the EU: there is a need to consistently apply sanctions to other supporters. of the illegitimate government so that the impact is real, “said Anatolis Kotavas, opponent of the National Anti-Crisis Board.
“If the situation does not change, the number of people and companies that will be subject to sanctions will grow faster and faster,” Kotavas promised.
“The sanctions are not an end in themselves, but a means to an end.” The people of Belarus and their neighbors want the government to end anarchy, hold new fair elections and allow them to live and develop normally, “he stressed .
For the fifth month in a row, Belarus has been plagued by massive protests over the August 9 presidential election, which Lukashenko has ruled the country since 1994.
The opposition and Western democracies claim that the election was rigged, and that the winner was seen as political rookie Chichanouskaya, who replaced her imprisoned husband in the fight for the presidency.
VIDEO: The Belarusian opposition has been awarded the Sakharov Prize for defending human rights and freedom of thought
The protesters are demanding the resignation of Lukashenko, the release of political prisoners and new elections.
Belarus has announced that it will temporarily close the country’s land borders as of December 20. Such a decision is justified by efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, but the opposition sees it as another means to suppress dissent.
The decree prohibits the departure of Belarusian citizens and foreigners with a permanent or temporary residence permit.
A Belarusian opposition chain withdrew to Lithuania, Latvia and Poland after a wave of protests.
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