United States and Canada announce new sanctions against Belarus
The United States and Canada on Wednesday announced new sanctions against Belarus, three years after massive protests that challenged the re-election of President Aleksandr Lukashenko, whose government described criticism from the European Union as "false accusations", AFP and Agerpres report on Thursday.
After the presidential elections on 9 August 2020, a massive protest movement brought hundreds of thousands of Belarusians to the streets to demonstrate against an election deemed rigged and a re-election of President Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994. Demonstrations were forcibly dispersed, hundreds of people were imprisoned and tens of thousands forced into exile.
The United States, which has already imposed sanctions on Belarus, said it was taking new measures, including targeting the Belavia airline and a tobacco tycoon in Lukashenko's entourage. In addition to US Treasury sanctions against eight individuals and five entities, the State Department announced Wednesday that it is imposing visa bans on 101 Belarusian officials.
"The United States continues to stand with the brave people of Belarus who want to live in a country where the rule of law, respect for human rights and a democratically elected government prevail," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Also on Wednesday, the Canadian foreign minister announced in Ottawa the imposition of sanctions against nine individuals and seven entities in Belarus "in response to serious and systematic human rights violations". "Perpetrators of human rights violations must not be allowed to go unpunished," Melanie Joly said in a statement, adding that Belarus' "support" for the "shameless actions of Russian leaders will not go unpunished". She stressed that the European Union, the UK and New Zealand were planning parallel action.
An ally of Moscow, the Minsk regime has allowed Russia to use its territory for its offensive in Ukraine launched in 2022, aggravating tensions in its relationship with Western states.
"Despite illegal sanctions, airspace closures and border blockades, information pressure and challenges from some EU members, Belarus has managed to maintain and strengthen its position as a state," reads a statement released Wednesday by the Belarusian foreign ministry. It denounced trials "based on false, outdated accusations" that "will not be able to influence the path" chosen by Minsk and accused the EU of pursuing an "aggressive policy", while demanding recognition of President Lukashenko's victory in the 2020 elections.
