On Thursday 27 August, on their arrival at the Gymnich in Berlin, several European foreign ministers stressed the importance of taking action against President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and supporting Belarusian civil society.
According to Romanian Minister Bogdan Aurescu, who quoted Belarusian opposition figures, 1,500 people were arrested before the 9 August presidential election, 8,000 afterwards, five people died and 600 were injured.
At their meeting, which was still in progress as we went to press, the ministers were to consider how to respond to the electoral fraud and the regime’s repression, which has intensified further in recent days.
“We will assess whether the sanctions, which are already ready to be applied, are sufficient or whether, in view of the current situation, they need to be intensified”, summarised German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, whose country holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. He felt that there was a need to discuss how the EU could increase the pressure on Mr Lukashenko.
On Tuesday 25 August, a senior EU official said ministers could agree on a list of 15 to 20 people subject to sanctions. A number some consider insufficient. “The list needs to be more extensive and convincing. I am hoping for an effective response from the EU”, said Latvian minister Edgars Rinkēvičs.
His Lithuanian counterpart went further. “If these speculations are true, it’s not enough, it can’t be taken seriously. We are waiting for these sanctions as are the Belarusian people”, stressed Linas Linkevičius, adding that the “credibility of the EU” was at stake and that the EU’s attitude had to be “appropriate”. The scope of European sanctions must be "substantial", he added, referring to the measures taken after the 2010 elections, which had targeted nearly 200 people in total.
Mr Linkevičius and Urmas Reinsalu, the Estonian minister, were pushing for sanctions against President Alexander Lukashenko himself.
In addition, the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy, Olivér Várhelyi, explained that he was going to ask the ministers for their agreement to involve the Belarusian Coordination Council, created by the opposition politician Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, in the implementation of the €53 million announced on 19 August by the President of the Commission (see EUROPE 12544/9).
Ministers also defended themselves against accusations of interference. “This is happening on our border. Violence cannot be covered by sovereignty”, explained Mr Linkevičius.
“We can’t tell people who they should choose to run their country, but equally we can’t keep our distance from what we are seeing. People are being beaten and deprived of basic democratic principles”, added Ivan Korčok from Slovakia.
Discussion in Minsk with Mr Makeï
Alongside the Gymnich meeting in Berlin, the ambassadors of the EU and the Member States in Minsk discussed the situation with the Belarusian Foreign Minister, Vladimir Makei.
According to the EU delegation, the diplomats stressed that only a peaceful and democratic process, supported by independent and free media and a strong civil society, could bring lasting solutions.
EU and Canada call for dialogue
The day before, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, and the Canadian Foreign Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, had stressed in a joint statement that it was “now urgent to engage in an open and constructive national dialogue to find a way forward”.
They had called on the authorities to accept “without delay” the joint visit by Albania, which holds the OSCE Chairmanship, and Sweden, who will be the incoming Chair. “Canada and the EU will continue to stand by the people of Belarus and work with our international partners to ensure their voice is heard and their rights respected”, they warned. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Agathe Cherki)