EU Foreign Minister condemns Belarus' rule and calls for free elections in his country • The EU imposes sanctions on the Minsk regime

• Ruler of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko // Photo: Reuters

Ten days after the outbreak of an unprecedented wave of protests in Belarus, EU leaders held an emergency hearing on the falsification of the election results in the country and the violence perpetrated by the regime of the country’s ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, against the country’s protesters. 

EU Foreign Minister Joseph Burrell said "Lukashenko has no democratic legitimacy to rule the country" and that the union does not recognize the election results, which gave Lukashenko nearly eighty percent of the vote.

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EU Council Chairman Charles Michel has announced sanctions against the Minsk regime. "The EU will impose sanctions on a significant number of individuals responsible for the violence in Belarus and the falsification of liberty results," Michel said. 

Lithuanian President Gitnas Nausda warned Lukashenko of "steps that will lead to bitterness and sorrow" and said that "the only way to national reconciliation is to resolve the conflict non-violently".

Meanwhile, the Belarus Election Commission has officially announced that Lukashenko's inauguration for another presidential term will take place in two months from today. 

"Until you kill me, there will be no other candidate"

Earlier this week, Lukashenko provided a show of opacity as a support demonstration he planned for himself at a factory in the Minsk capital turned into one protest against him. The workers called Lukashenko "go home" and he thanked them and asked if they thought the election results, which took place last week in the country, were falsified. Asked the audience responded with a thunderous "yes".

Lukashenko asked if they were interested in new elections and after being answered in the affirmative he said: "We held elections. Until you kill me, there will be no other candidate. There will be no more elections," Lukashenko said. The president later proposed a referendum and a re-run of the election, in case the demonstrations were stopped. 

Protests in Belarus began last week after Lukashenko announced his victory in the country's presidential election by a huge margin over opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovsky. The protesters claimed that these were near the results of the elections, which were not monitored, while many polling stations themselves reported forgeries. The demonstrations that erupted following the announcement of the election results were suppressed with severe violence, but did not stop throughout the week.

During the demonstrations, two prisoners were killed, one of whom was beaten to death in custody in the city of Gomel. More than 8,000 protesters were arrested. Alexander Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994 and runs the country as a Soviet republic in the Soviet Union. A large part of the economy is in the hands of the state and the secret police manage many aspects of public life.