Onrust en repressie in Wit-Rusland na gemanipuleerde verkiezingen #7

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Op maandag 28 september 2020 17:56 schreef luxerobots het volgende:
Ik vraag me af wat de gevolgen van de aanval van Azerbaijan op Armeni� zullen zijn. Armeni� is een bondgenoot van Rusland die militaire hulp goed kan gebruiken. Rusland moet op die manier wel zijn aandacht verdelen, dat kan op termijn nog wel wat uitmaken.

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French president arrives in Lithuania

BNS Monday, September 28, 2020

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived on an official visit to Lithuania on Monday.

The French leader is expected to pay close attention to the situation in Belarus during the first bilateral visit by a French head of state to Lithuania in nearly two decades.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has recently been staying in Vilnius, earlier called on Macron to play a mediating role in resolving the political crisis in Belarus.

Nauseda also plans to comprehensively discuss the relations with Russia during the meeting with the French president.

On the eve of his visit to Vilnius, Macron said that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, unrecognized in the West, must step down.

The French president’s representatives reported that he was ready to meet with Tikhanovskaya in Vilnius.

On Tuesday, Macron will visit French troops serving within the NATO battalion in Lithuania and stationed in Rukla.

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Macron to meet opposition leader Tikhanovskaya after calls to mediate Belarusian crisis

Issued on: 28/09/2020 - 11:45 Modified: 28/09/2020 - 11:48

Emmanuel Macron will meet Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Lithuania on Tuesday, the �lys�e Palace said in a statement, after she asked the French president to help mediate the crisis that has gripped the country since the controversial reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Monday urged French President Emmanuel Macron to mediate in the political crisis in her homeland, saying he could involve Russia in opening a dialogue.

Tikhanovskaya told AFP the EU should expand planned sanctions to include businesses that support the authoritarian government of President Alexander Lukashenko.

"The protests are not going to stop," she said in an interview in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius where she fled after running against Lukashenko in an election on August 9.

"People will not accept the regime under which they have lived all these years."

The French president will be Tikhanovskaya's most high-profile meeting so far since the disputed election and the weeks of unprecedented mass protests which she has helped inspire.

She has previously met leaders in neighbouring Poland and Lithuania, which have taken a lead in European diplomacy on Belarus, and with EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

She said the French leader was known as a mediator in international crises who could open a dialogue between the government and the opposition, and also involve Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

"Now is the moment when Belarus needs help in starting dialogue," she said, adding that Macron could be "one of the mediators" in the crisis.

Call for sanctions on pro-Lukashenko businesses

The EU is considering personal sanctions against Lukashenko and other high-profile figures seen as responsible for a violent crackdown.

But Tikhanovskaya said it could go further and adopt "economic sanctions against businesses, individual businessmen who support the Lukashenko regime".

But she emphasised these should not be general economic sanctions as "ordinary people will suffer most" from them.

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Macron meets Belarusian opposition leader Tikhanovskaya in Vilnius

No solution to crisis without Putin, French president says.

By Rym Momtaz 9/29/20, 12:00 PM CET Updated 9/29/20, 12:02 PM CET

VILNIUS — French President Emmanuel Macron met with Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Tuesday morning during a visit to Lithuania.

The meeting was one of the most high-profile demonstrations of support for the Belarusian opposition by a Western leader since the country's disputed presidential election in August.

The talks at Macron's hotel in Vilnius lasted a little over half an hour. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Europe Minister Cl�ment Beaune and Alexandre Adam, an adviser to Macron on Europe, were also present.

"It was a wonderful meeting, he’s a wonderful person," Tikhanovskaya said afterward. "He promised us to do everything to help with negotiations in this political crisis in our country. He [said] that time is very crucial because a lot of people are suffering because of this regime, too many people are in jails and he will do everything just to help to release all the political prisoners."

Macron arrived in Vilnius on Monday to begin a three-day regional visit. Tikhanovskaya fled to Lithuania following the presidential election, in which she stood against autocratic incumbent Alexander Lukashenko.

The EU and other Western powers have refused to recognize the official results of the poll, which gave victory to Lukashenko, due to widespread allegations of electoral fraud. The EU has also condemned the violent repression of anti-Lukashenko protests.

However, the bloc's efforts to impose sanctions on senior Belarusian officials have been held up by Cyprus, which wants sanctions against Turkey agreed at the same time.

Macron has been discussing the possibility of mediation in Belarus by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Europe with Russian President Vladimir Putin since mid-August.

"We will have a policy of pressure through sanctions [on Belarus] and of dialogue with Russia because it is not a result we can get without including President Putin in this phase," Macron said at a debate with students at the University of Vilnius after the meeting. "We said clearly that it would be an error and an unacceptable provocation for Russia to get involved with military or police forces and that is should remain a Belorussian issue and not an intervention by neighbors."

Macron said he wants EU sanctions "as soon as possible" and called on Belarusian authorities to end arbitrary arrests, release political prisoners, and respect the real results of the elections. He said he was working with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Charles Michel and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on achieving those goals.

At her meeting with Macron, Tikhanovskaya asked for help in securing OSCE mediation and negotiations with Lukashenko.

"Mr. Macron understands that the situation cannot be solved without Russia, that Russia basically is the main reason why Lukashenko is in power," Franak Viačorka, an adviser to Tikhanovskaya, said after the meeting.

Tikhanovskaya did not ask Macron to put pressure on Lukashenko, according to Viačorka, but asked him for advice on how to proceed given that he is a "professional politician," unlike her. "Mr. Macron said there is no one recipe for this," he added.

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Britain imposes sanctions on Belarus leader and aides

Josh Smith,Reuters September 29, 2020

SEOUL (Reuters) - Britain has imposed sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and seven other officials over election fraud and violence against protesters, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Reuters on Tuesday.

Lukashenko's national security adviser and chief of staff are also among the sanctioned officials, Raab said in an interview during a visit to the South Korean capital of Seoul.

"There is a vanishing window to influence what is playing out in Belarus and we believe the time to take action is now," he said. "First and foremost there must be a cost, there must be a price with the kind of human rights abuses that we’ve seen and the fraudulent approach to that election."

Belarus has seen mass demonstrations since Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, was named the landslide winner of an Aug 9 presidential election his opponents say was rigged.

Lukashenko denies electoral fraud. All major opposition figures are now in jail or have fled.

Raab told parliament last week that Britain was preparing sanctions on Minsk in coordination with the United States and Canada.

The European Union, which Britain left in January, has also announced plans for sanctions on Belarusian officials, although it has yet to finalise them.

Western countries have so far been cautious in responding the events in Belarus, balancing sympathy for the pro-democracy movement with concern about provoking Russia, which has made clear it still supports Lukashenko, its close ally.

Raab said he had spoken with Britain's international partners, and Britain had decided to move forward.

"We expect others will follow but I think time is of the essence because of that narrow window of opportunity to influence what is playing out," he said.

"We can’t just have a situation where the likes of Alexander Lukashenko and frankly Vladimir Putin think that the human rights abuses and the rigging of that election can just pass without them being held to account."

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Canada will impose sanctions on Belarus president, other senior officials

Reuters September 29, 2020

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is imposing sanctions against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and 10 other senior officials for committing human rights violations, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

More than 12,000 people have been arrested, and hundreds remain in jail, since Lukashenko was declared the landslide winner of an Aug. 9 presidential election that the opposition denounced as rigged.

"Since the fraudulent presidential elections in August 2020, the Government of Belarus has conducted a systematic campaign of repression and state-sponsored violence against public protests and the activities of opposition groups," said the statement.

Canada, which announced the sanctions in coordination with Britain, said the measures were part of a broader diplomatic effort to support the people of Belarus.

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29 September 2020, 17:27

Belarusian MFA comments on Macron's meeting with Tikhanovskaya

MINSK, 29 September (BelTA) - Belarus' Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the meeting of French President Emmanuel Macron with the former Belarus presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Vilnius. The relevant statement by Anatoly Glaz, Head of the Information and Digital Diplomacy Office, Press Secretary of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is available on the ministry's website, BelTA has learned.

“You know, we are not particularly surprised at the agenda of French President Macron's visit to the Lithuanian capital. There is a strong feeling that today Lithuania has a new attraction that has become a must-see. From a professional point of view, let me say that they should harbor no illusions. Some rushed contacts with strange people have no practical meaning and will not have. Diplomacy has many recognized civilized tools with which to conduct dialogue and defend interests. These tools are much more effective than trying to exert brutal pressure and impose your will on a neighbor,” Anatoly Glaz said

Belarus' foreign policy has always been based on international law and other understandable, logical principles, he said. It is the interests of the state and people, the interests of business, trade, security, infrastructure and so on. Such an open and clear position, according to the spokesman, is understandable to the partners of Belarus.

“A wise, critical researcher of our independent foreign policy will confirm that it is also based on the values associated with the principles of international law. Given this, it is difficult for us, for example, to comment on our Baltic neighbors' illogical emotional gestures that sometimes border on hysteria. They have extended the sanctions lists... Well, today, as promised, we are also imposing symmetrical restrictive measures against each of these countries. We've said that this is a downward spiral launched by individual Lithuanian politicians. We will continue to respond, but we will never initiate such steps. Who is going to benefit from this? Maybe, [Lithuanian Foreign Minister] Linkevicius himself who would do anything to be noticed before the upcoming elections. This will not affect his salary, unlike the income of Lithuanian businessmen and taxpayers who are bound with the neighboring country by joint projects, deals and investments,” Anatoly Glaz noted.

Lithuania welcomed about 600,000 Belarusian visitors last year alone who spent almost �1 billion in that country, Anatoly Glaz noted. Belarus uses more than a third of the Lithuanian Railways' capacity annually. “I can go on and on. Although, probably, these are small figures on the geopolitical scale of some Lithuanian politicians. But we will not be able to understand how one can make such flawed steps for the sake of some ephemeral ambitions,” he stressed.