Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers issue joint statement on Belarus

Take note – story published 3 years ago

The foreign ministers of the Nordic and Baltic states issued a joint statement August 11 on the situation in Belarus following presidential elections and a brutal crackdown by the regime of Aleksander Lukashenko. The statement is reproduced below.

The Foreign Ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, in the context of the developments that are taking place in Belarus, express their grave concern about the violence against post-election demonstrations that have occurred in response to reports of widespread electoral fraud. We are very troubled by the reports of physical injuries inflicted on the demonstrators.

The presidential elections, which took place in Belarus on 9th August 2020, did not comply with the international commitments of Belarus and globally recognized standards of democracy and rule of law, and they were not free and fair.

We urge the Belarusian authorities to stop persecution of political opponents, to release all those unfairly detained immediately and to respect human rights and freedoms. We call upon the Belarusian government to immediately engage in a genuine political dialogue with the opposition in order to avoid further use of violence.

We remain committed to the people of Belarus and will continue to closely follow developments.

 

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