Belarus leader orders police to quash protests as EU turns up the heat
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Minsk/Brussels — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered his police on Wednesday to put down protests in the capital, Minsk, signalling an escalation after a week-and-a-half of mass demonstrations against his rule.
The EU held an emergency summit on the crisis, rejecting Lukashenko’s re-election in a disputed vote on August 9 and announcing financial sanctions against officials the bloc blames for election fraud and a cracking down on protests.
“Our message is very clear. Stop the violence,” said Charles Michel, the EU summit chair. EU commission head Ursula von der Leyen said the list of those hit by sanctions would be prepared swiftly.
“This is about the Belarusian people and their legitimate right to determine the future path of their country,” she said. “The EU stands at the side of the Belarusian people.”
Lukashenko, a gruff former Soviet collective farm boss facing the biggest crisis of his 26-year rule, has blamed foreign countries for stirring the unrest and says the protesters are funded from abroad.
“There should no longer be any disorder in Minsk of any kind,” he said in remarks reported by state news agency Belta, announcing the new police crackdown in the capital. “People are tired. People demand peace and quiet.”
Police had kept a low profile during a mass protest in Minsk on Sunday and the protests have spread to some of Belarus’s major industrial plants. On Wednesday, police dispersed a demonstration and detained two people at the Minsk Tractor Works plant.
Police also took control of the main state drama theatre in Minsk. It became a flashpoint for protests when its director, a former Belarusian diplomat, was fired after speaking out in favour of opposition rallies.
Lukashenko ordered border controls to be tightened to prevent an influx of “fighters and arms”, and intelligence agencies to search for the organisers of demonstrations.
The EU wants to avoid a repeat of violence in neighbouring Ukraine, where a pro-Moscow leader was ousted in a popular uprising six years ago, triggering a Russian military intervention and Europe’s deadliest ongoing conflict.
“For us it is clear that Belarus must find its own path, that must happen via dialogue in the country and there must be no intervention from outside,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She bluntly said she saw no role for herself as a mediator in the crisis, noting she had tried to phone Lukashenko, but “he refused to talk to ...
The EU held an emergency summit on the crisis, rejecting Lukashenko’s re-election in a disputed vote on August 9 and announcing financial sanctions against officials the bloc blames for election fraud and a cracking down on protests.
“Our message is very clear. Stop the violence,” said Charles Michel, the EU summit chair. EU commission head Ursula von der Leyen said the list of those hit by sanctions would be prepared swiftly.
“This is about the Belarusian people and their legitimate right to determine the future path of their country,” she said. “The EU stands at the side of the Belarusian people.”
Lukashenko, a gruff former Soviet collective farm boss facing the biggest crisis of his 26-year rule, has blamed foreign countries for stirring the unrest and says the protesters are funded from abroad.
“There should no longer be any disorder in Minsk of any kind,” he said in remarks reported by state news agency Belta, announcing the new police crackdown in the capital. “People are tired. People demand peace and quiet.”
Police had kept a low profile during a mass protest in Minsk on Sunday and the protests have spread to some of Belarus’s major industrial plants. On Wednesday, police dispersed a demonstration and detained two people at the Minsk Tractor Works plant.
Police also took control of the main state drama theatre in Minsk. It became a flashpoint for protests when its director, a former Belarusian diplomat, was fired after speaking out in favour of opposition rallies.
Lukashenko ordered border controls to be tightened to prevent an influx of “fighters and arms”, and intelligence agencies to search for the organisers of demonstrations.
The EU wants to avoid a repeat of violence in neighbouring Ukraine, where a pro-Moscow leader was ousted in a popular uprising six years ago, triggering a Russian military intervention and Europe’s deadliest ongoing conflict.
“For us it is clear that Belarus must find its own path, that must happen via dialogue in the country and there must be no intervention from outside,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She bluntly said she saw no role for herself as a mediator in the crisis, noting she had tried to phone Lukashenko, but “he refused to talk to ...
