EU, Germany, Britain pressure Belarus on snatched opposition figure

MINSK, Belarus, September 8 ------ The European Union on Monday led calls for Belarus to immediately release over 600 people arrested for protesting against a controversial election that extended strongman Alexander Lukashenko's 26 years in power. Germany and Britain meanwhile demanded answers on the whereabouts of senior opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, who allies say was snatched off the streets in central Minsk along with a spokesman and executive secretary of the Coordination Council.

The Council was set up to ensure a peaceful transfer of power after Lukashenko's main rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya rejected Lukashenko's claim to have won the August 9 presidential election with 80 percent of the vote. The interior ministry said 633 people were detained on Sunday for illegal mass gatherings, one of the largest wave of arrests since the early days of the demonstrations.

"The EU expects the Belarusian authorities to ensure the immediate release of all detained on political grounds before and after the falsified 9 August presidential elections," its diplomatic head Josep Borrell said. "The EU will impose sanctions on individuals responsible for violence, repression and falsification of election results," he added. Voicing concern over the fate of Kolesnikova, Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas demanded "clarity on the whereabouts and the release of all political prisoners in Belarus."

Britain's foreign secretary Dominic Raab added: "Seriously concerned for the welfare of Maria Kolesnikova in #Belarus. Lukashenko’s regime must make her safe return their highest priority. The regime must cease brutalising protestors, release political prisoners and begin dialogue with the opposition." Canada's foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne called "for the release of people detained including opposition members and journalists. "The most recent arbitrary arrests of leading opposition voices and acts of repression are unacceptable," he said. Tikhanovskaya left the country under pressure from the authorities and was granted refuge in EU member Lithuania.

Source: philstar.com