According to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, the activities just mentioned are not compatible with the status of a diplomat. “This decision (…) was made by the Belarusian side in view of the confirmed destructive nature of the activities of these persons,” the spokesman of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Anatoly Glaz, told ONT television.
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“According to security forces, these people were gathering information on the domestic political situation in Belarus and the course of the protests,” the ONT channel added. Interfax then reports that a military attaché and an ambassador’s deputy have been expelled.
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British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called Minsk’s action unjustified. “The expulsion of two British diplomats from Belarus for legitimate observation of the protests is completely unjustified,” the head of British diplomacy wrote on Twitter. “Lukashenko cannot hide the oppression of his own people. The only way forward is free and fair elections and the duty of those responsible for the violence against the demonstrators, “he added.
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Minsk announced its move the day after further mass protests by Belarusians against the country’s authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, during which security forces detained more than a thousand people, the AFP agency warns. Tens of thousands of Eastern Europeans have been protesting every Sunday since Lukashenko’s officially announced victory in the August presidential election every Sunday; opposition, as well as some Western countries, consider this result to be rigged. Police are cracking down on the protesters.
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A few days ago, the European Union added other Belarusian officials to the sanctions list, who it said were involved in violently suppressing protests or intimidating opponents of the regime. He also imposed sanctions on Lukashenko, who has ruled the country for 26 years and is often described as the last European dictator.
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Britain, along with Canada, imposed sanctions on Alexander Lukashenko, his son and other Belarusian officials at the end of September. At the beginning of October, London temporarily recalled its ambassador to Minsk.
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