Pressure on the regime of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko should be maintained, sanctions included, because Lukashenko supports Russia in its war against Ukraine, said Latvian Saeima representative Zanda Kalniņa- Lukaševica at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.
The politician also said Lukashenko’s regime also employs repressions against the country’s civil society and performs hybrid attacks on the EU border.
“The placement of Russian nuclear arms in Belarus will create direct and lasting consequences for the independence of Belarus, as well as the region’s security. Unfortunately, the longer Lukashenko regime stays in power, the lower the possibility of democracy returning to Belarus. The fraudulent elections in 2020 created shock for residents, and instead of cooperating with the civil society, the regime decided to oppress peaceful protests,” said Kalniņa-Lukaševica.
She mentioned that illegal arrests, detainment, torture and inhumane and degrading treatment, especially of political opponents, is a regular and organised practice in Belarus.
Many Belarusians, she said, were forced to leave their country and seek asylum in neighbouring countries, including Latvia. She added that Latvia was one of the first country to provide them with aid once repressions broke out.
“A blooming, democratic and free Belarus is in our interests. This is why we have to support Belarusian democratic society as best we can. Latvia will continue supporting Belarusian democratic movement,” said Kalniņa-Lukaševica.
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