UPDATED: EU says Belarus’ Lukashenko not legitimate president
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President Alexander Lukashenko is not the legitimate president of Belarus, the European Union said on Thursday, saying his abrupt swearing-in on Wednesday went directly against the will of the people.
“The so-called ‘inauguration’ … and the new mandate claimed by Aleksander Lukashenko lack any democratic legitimacy,” the EU’s 27 states said in a statement.
“This ‘inauguration’ directly contradicts the will of large parts of the Belarusian population, as expressed in numerous, unprecedented and peaceful protests since the elections, and serves to only further deepen the political crisis in Belarus.”
A woman falls in front of Belarusian policemen during a rally to protest against the inauguration of Alexander Lukashenko and against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, 23 September 2020. EPA-EFE/STR
Belarusian security forces detained protesters and fired water cannon to disperse crowds as thousands took to the streets of Minsk against the abrupt inauguration of veteran President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday.
Ignoring calls for an end to his 26-year grip on power, Lukashenko was sworn in for a sixth term after an election that the opposition and several foreign governments say was rigged.
The ceremony would normally have been publicised as a major state occasion but was instead held without warning following Lukashenko’s claim of a landslide victory in the Aug. 9 vote.
Belarusian policemen detain a participant during a rally to protest against the inauguration of Alexander Lukashenko and against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, 23 September 2020. EPA-EFE/STR
The former Soviet republic’s opposition, which has staged more than six weeks of mass protests demanding his resignation, denounced the inauguration as illegitimate.
The EU, a large financial donor to Belarus, also said it was “reviewing its relations” with the country, meaning the bloc would seek to cut off direct funding to Lukashenko’s government, channelling it to aid groups and hospitals instead.
Before the election, the EU had committed to spend 135 million euros on projects in Belarus and has also pledged 53 million euros for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya discussed with EU foreign ministers on Monday in Brussels how to bypass state administration to support doctors and hospitals.
“I asked Europe not to support financially the regime. All the money Mr.Lukashenko can get now will not go to support the Belarusian people but will go for those repressions,” she told reporters, referring to the pro-democracy crackdown.
