The leader of Belarus, Alexander LukashenkoAcknowledging that his troops might help Middle Eastern asylum seekers enter Europe. This is the clearest acknowledgment he designed New immigrant crisis On the border with the European Union.
exist Interviewed by BBC At his presidential palace in Minsk, he said his army is “absolutely possible” to help immigrants cross the border into Poland.
“Maybe someone helped them. I won’t even investigate this,” he said.
He denied responsibility for the immigration crisis, but admitted to let asylum seekers pass Belarus To the EU border “because they will not come to my country, they will go to your country”.
The official Belarusian media made fun of the interview on Friday because Lukashenko tried to show his direct contact with Western leaders and the media despite his growing international isolation. “You know it’s going to be very interesting,” an official media telegram channel wrote, adding that Lukashenko had talked with a “major western news media.”Opposition leader representative Svyatlana Zihanusskaya According to the broadcaster, criticizing the interview was “giving the dictator a say.” Lukashenko also accepted an interview with CNN in September.
inside British Broadcasting Corporation In an interview, Lukashenko also admitted that his security services severely beat up people who were imprisoned for protesting the polluted election last year.
“Okay, okay, I admit, I admit. People were beaten in the Okrestina Detention Center. But there were also police officers who were beaten, and you didn’t show it,” he said.
Human Rights Watch said last year that it had spoken to detainees who described “battering, prolonged pressure positions, electric shocks, and rape in at least one case, and stated that they had seen other detainees subjected to the same or more severe abuse. They suffered serious injuries, including fractures, broken teeth, skin wounds, electric burns and minor brain injuries. Some people have kidney injuries.”
Due to the suppression of the opposition last year, EU governments refused to recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus. Earlier this week, he had direct contact with EU leaders for the first time since the election. He talked with Angela Merkel on the phone about humanitarian assistance For thousands of asylum seekers trapped at the border.
Outdoor immigration camp on the EU border Emptied people this week As Belarus moved thousands of asylum seekers to a logistics center near the border. The video showed that small-scale fighting broke out in the center, and the center was reported to be overcrowded. Lukashenko ordered his ministers to improve the safety of the center on Friday, his press service said.
EU Human Rights Commissioner called on Friday Poland Human rights groups and journalists are allowed to enter border areas to “end human suffering and human rights violations.” Poland has declared a state of emergency on its border with Belarus, giving the police special powers to expel refugees without having to review asylum applications.
