The European Parliament adopted a resolution officially recognising Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as an accomplice to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s war crimes in Ukraine.
In a resolution adopted by lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday, the EU demanded that a future international tribunal investigate not just Putin but also Belarus’ leadership.
EU Condemns Lukashenko’s Complicity in Putin’s Crimes
The resolution designated Belarus as a “satellite state of Russia” and urges Europe to impose the same sanctions on Belarus as on Russia.
It claimed that Lukashenko actively supports Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and “has become fully complicit in Russia’s unjustified war of aggression and war crimes against Ukraine.”
In the resolution, the EU called out the Belarus regime’s massive supply of ammunition and military hardware to Russian aggressors, particularly manufacturing parts for the Russian military.
Furthermore, the EU denounced the stationing of Russian troops in Belarus, their training by Belarusian instructors, as well as the welcoming of Russia’s “illegal and state-sponsored terrorist” organisation, the Wagner Group, into the country.
According to the resolution, Lukashenko enabled the “use of Belarusian territory, airspace and infrastructure as a staging ground to launch the invasion, as well as for continued missile attacks on military and civilian targets in Ukraine.”
The European Parliament also condemned the deportation of 2,150 Ukrainian children to Belarus, and the involvement of the Belarus Red Cross therein.
EU Demands Tougher Actions and Sanctions
Consequently, the EU called for “member states to take all the actions necessary to enable the criminal prosecution of Belarusian officials who are complicit in the crime of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity.”
The EU also asked member states to seek legal means for seizing assets of Belarusian leadership and related Belarusian companies involved in Russia’s war effort.
In the resolution, the European Parliament insists that “Belarusian potash”, which is the regime’s primary source of revenue, needs to remain on the sanctions list and that it should not be transported through EU territory, “especially since Belarus’s main potash producer, Belaruskali, is directly involved in the illegal transfer, Russification, and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.”
Belarus and Russia should be added to the EU’s list of nations at “high risk” of financial irregularities and terrorism sponsorship, and athletes from both countries should be barred from participation in international competitions, the resolution stated.
Repression by Lukashenko’s Regime
The European Parliament, in its resolution, condemned the Belarus regime’s “unabated repression and the systematic and widespread human rights violations.”
The resolution lists kinds of repression, “including manifold cases of mistreatment and torture, as well as the incommunicado detention and inadequate medical assistance provided to political prisoners and other persons prosecuted on politically motivated grounds, such as journalists and human rights defenders.”
Furthermore, the EU has urged Belarusian authorities to “end cruel, inhuman and degrading pre-trial detention and imprisonment conditions for political prisoners, including denial of medical treatment, basic hygiene products, and access to lawyers and family members.”
It demands that Lukashenko’s regime end its pattern of violence, torture, persecution, and propaganda against “dissenting voices and perceived critics,” and that all political prisoners, their family members, and all others unlawfully detained be released immediately.
Under the accepted principles of extraterritoriality and universal jurisdiction, the resolution calls on EU Member States to lay the groundwork for the “criminal prosecution of Belarusian officials who are responsible for or complicit in electoral fraud, grave human rights violations, and crimes against humanity.”
European Parliament Adopts Resolution Accusing Belarus Pres. Lukashenko of Complicity in Putin’s Crimes
The resolution designates Belarus as a “satellite state of Russia” and urges Europe to impose the same sanctions on Belarus as on Russia.
September 14, 2023
IMAGE SOURCE: REUTERSBelarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.