On the third anniversary of ‘the electoral fraud committed by the Lukashenko regime’, the foreign ministers of Poland and the Baltic states issued a statement of support for the Belarusian nation
They claimed that on Aug. 9, 2020, the Lukashenko regime falsified the results of the presidential election, a move that led to mass protests and the repression of the Belarusian opposition.
In a statement on the third anniversary of the election in Belarus, the foreign ministers from Poland and the Baltic states expressed support for the peaceful protests by Belarusians that followed the election. The statement condemned the Belarusian regime for its inhuman treatment and repression of opponents, and highlighted how hundreds have been imprisoned and some killed as a result of the repression that followed the fraudulent election.
The statement went on to claim that, despite opposition from its people, the Belarusian regime has backed the unprovoked Russian aggression against Ukraine. That backing is creating new dangers for the Belarusian people, it added.
The document pledged support for Belarusians in their hour of need. “At this painful moment of Belarusian history we continue to back its people and remain loyal to the principle of defending our mutual freedoms,” the statement read. It commited the four countries to continue supporting the Belarusian opposition and civil society in their struggle for democracy.
The four ministers also demanded that the Lukashenko regime free and rehabilitate all political prisoners, cease the repression of the opposition, and stop supporting Russian aggression against Ukraine. It concluded by saying that the four countries will “continue with the policy of isolating the criminal and illegal Lukashenko regime and of pressing for stronger EU sanctions on the regime.”
Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau tweeted an additional statement in which he praised Belarusians for their determination and will to live in a free and democratic state. He recalled that hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have fled their country as a result of repression. Poland, he claimed, “has become a safe harbor” in which Belarusians can develop their talents and businesses.
He emphasized that Belarusians were expressing European aspirations. “By preserving your national identity, you are discovering that you are a part of the European family of nations. Poland supports your national and European aspirations,” he assured.
The minister concluded by saying that Poles understand the desire to live in a free country because of Poland’s difficult history and that he believed that Belarusians will succeed to recover their country.
