Lhe European Council will examine, this Monday evening, in Brussels, new sanctions and measures against the Lukashenko regime, whose act of air piracy is unprecedented. In the preparatory discussions, the 27 capitals seem unanimous and “no political blockage has appeared”, according to a European source. Hungary, which had blocked an EU statement on Israeli-Palestinian violence, did not oppose a statement issued Sunday evening by the high representative Josep Borrell which described as “inadmissible” the act of the Belarusian authorities.
“One of the passengers on the flight, Mr. Raman Pratasevich, freelance journalist from Belarus, was detained by Belarusian authorities and prevented from boarding the plane at Minsk airport to his original destination . This is another blatant attempt by the Belarusian authorities to silence all voices of the opposition, said Josep Borrell on behalf of the 27. We call for the immediate release of Mr. Pratasevich. By carrying out this coercive act, the Belarusian authorities endangered the safety of passengers and crew. An international investigation into this incident must be carried out to ascertain any violation of international aviation rules. “
President Lukashenko and his son, already sanctioned by the EU
In the technical discussions on sanctions and measures, it is planned, out of prudence, to suspend the overflight of airspace to all European companies and, at the same time, the planes of the Belarusian company Belavia would be prohibited from landing in EU airports and transit, including land, would also be prohibited.
Finally, it would be a question of extending the already long list of Belarusian personalities and entities sanctioned by the EU. Currently, 88 people and 7 entities are on this list, including President Alexander Lukashenko, his son Viktor (who is his national security adviser), ministers, high representatives of the State, high-ranking magistrates, the boss of national television, powerful businessmen… For the whole of these people, assets in Europe are frozen and all are banned from entering the EU. In addition, no European citizen or entity is authorized to finance the individuals and entities concerned.
Poland already called for stronger sanctions
In fact, the individual sanctions have so far had no influence on the regime which remains in power despite elections deemed rigged by the EU and the fierce repression of opponents, imprisoned and mistreated. Alexander Lukashenko, 66, has been in power since 1994. His 5e re-election on August 9, 2020, by 80% of the vote was contested by demonstrations and terrible repression. The regime is supported by Moscow. The opposition media are gradually being silenced and seen as participating in “terrorism”.
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The EU pronounced several rounds of sanctions on October 2, 2020, November 16 and December 17. Faced with the ineffectiveness of the first packages of measures, at the beginning of May, Poland, the Czech Republic and a few other Member States sensitive to the Belarusian question had requested that a fourth set of sanctions be taken even before the hijacking of the Ryanair flight by a MiG 29 of the Belarusian military fleet, Sunday 23 May. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was one of the quickest to respond on Twitter condemning a “reprehensible act of state terrorism”. His ally, the Hungarian Viktor Orban, less offensive when the interests of Moscow are at stake, preferred to remain silent like all Hungarian officials since Sunday. France has, for its part, requested the referral of the ICAO (the International Civil Aviation Organization) so that an “immediate investigation” can be launched.
In addition, it appeared on Monday that Mr. Pratasevich was arrested while traveling with his Russian fiancee, Sofia Sapega, a student at the University of European Humanities, in Vilnius. Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde is also calling for his “immediate release”.
Moscow in the background
The dinner of heads of state and government which is held on Monday evening in Brussels should formalize a position. The 27 should also discuss the difficulties of Brexit, the migration crisis in Ceuta, the recent events between Hamas and Israel and the preparation of the next EU-US summit. Finally, the 27 leaders had also long planned a “strategic discussion on Russia”. A Brussels source specifies that the Belarusian and Russian cases will give rise to “two very distinct discussions”. Certainly, but could Moscow ignore the preparation of such an act of piracy by the Belarusian secret services?
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