On Friday 4 September, 106 MEPs from 21 Member States and all political groups called on the EU to sanction Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Although the Europeans are currently preparing measures against those responsible for electoral fraud and repression in Belarus, the President is not among them.
In a letter to the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council obtained by EUROPE, these 106 MEPs stress their “deep concern about the intention not to include” Mr Lukashenko among those to be sanctioned.
“The Belarusian people, who for 26 years have been experiencing the brutality of Lukashenko’s regime, will not understand such a shameful behaviour of the EU”, MEPs warned, adding that Lukashenko is the main culprit for the situation in the country. “There are no reasons why he should not be on the EU sanctions list along [with] persons enabling the brutality of his authoritarian regime”, say MEPs.
In their view, the list of sanctions should include not only officials at the central level who are responsible for violence, repression, and electoral fraud, but also those at the regional level, as well as their family members.
See the letter: https://bit.ly/3i0II2q (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)