BERLIN (AP) – The European Union agreed to impose sanctions on up to 20 major Belarusians suspected of voter fraud and protester repression and is expected to include President Alexander Lukashenko on their list at some point, the bloc’s foreign ministers said Friday. an assembly in Berlin.
In Vienne, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe proposed mediating between the two sides in Belarus, and President Edi Rama promised not to “interfere in internal affairs” while stressing that human rights violations will have to cease.
Belarus’s authoritarian president for 26 years has faced weeks of protests since he was re-elected to a sixth term on 9 August with 80% of the vote. The opposition states that the election was rigged and that the EU, among others, is challenging the results.
In the first 4 days of protests that followed, Belarusian security forces arrested some 7,000 more people and wounded charges with rubber bullets, stun grenades and clubs. At least three protesters were killed. Approximately 180 other people were arrested at rallies on Thursday.
“We have general agreement on how the list will be structured and which will be more or less on the list,” Czech Foreign Minister Thomas Petricek told the press. However, the main technical points involved in the legal completion of the list will be not to conclude for at least one week.
When asked if the Belarusian president would be affected by a ban and an asset freeze, Petricek said his idea “Lukashenko deserves to be on the list. The question is whether at the first level or at a later level if there is no progress. “
Lithuanian Chancellor Linas Linkevicius said Lukashenko is on the list now, but admitted that there may be “tactical reasons” to save the Belarusian leader. Lithuania had submitted its own list of 118 staff.
When asked after the assembly whether Lukashenko would be an objective, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell refused to be specific and said that “this data will have to be up to date until sanctions are legally enforced and in force. “He also said there’s still evidence, gathering as to why officials deserve to be included on the list, should they introduce demanding legal situations contrary to sanctions.
Borrell explained that top countries prefer a slow technique that would increase tension by adding more names if Lukashenko does not participate in the opposition talks.
“The initial list is short. It’s increased in the last few days. In the first 12, then it grew to nearly 20. I think it will become more pronounced in the next few days,” he said. the evolution of things in Belarus and the attitude of the regime. “
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday that he was in a position to send police to Belarus if the protests turned violent, but he still saw no such need. Linkevicius said that “we cannot rule out this invasion” and that the EU will also have to send a transparent warning to Russia.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the importance of Belarus’ sovereignty in a recent appeal to Putin.
“I hope that unit will be deployed,” he told reporters in Berlin.
Merkel said he had also tried to call Lukashenko, but had refused to communicate with her until now.
The EU supported the OSCE’s proposals to publicize the debate in Belarus, one of the 57 member countries of the organization, and said it was in a position to provide assistance in moving them forward.
At a special assembly on stage in Vienna on Friday, Rama, who is Albania’s prime minister, presented the case for the organization to facilitate talks between Lukashenko and the opposition.
“For the country to move forward safely and as safely as possible, mutual understanding and cooperation within Belarus will be required,” Rama said. “And our role will be to help achieve this. “
He said that “if we have to play a constructive role, it is not up to us to take sides” and that the OSCE can simply provide “impartial recommendations to third parties. “
But at the same time, he noted the restrictions imposed on journalists, as well as the injuries and death of protesters by government repression, saying that “the symbol is ugly to say the least. “
“Belarus is here, with us, as a friend, but friends want vital truths, and the Minsk government wants to hear this one,” he said.
“The OSCE is based on principles that come with full respect for democracy and human rights. Array. . . There can’t be a yes or yet. These are principles and must be respected. “
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Lorne Cook reported from Brussels. Frank Jordans and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
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