LAST UPDATE | 17 Aug 2020

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER Simon Coveney has said he is “deeply concerned” about what he described as the ongoing human rights abuses in Belarus.

Coveney said the presidential election in the country “was not legitimate” and has called on the current Belarussian government to release any remaining protesters. 

Belarus today entered its ninth straight day of protest following the re-election of Alexander Lukashenko, who has now been in power for over 26 years. 

Authorities initially tried to suppress the rallies, detaining almost 7,000 people in the first days of the protests. Police moved aggressively, using stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.

However, the police presence has also but disappeared at the rallies now.

The official results of the election vote gave Lukashenko 80% of the vote and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya only 10%, but the opposition claims the vote was rigged.

In a statement this evening, Coveney said that Ireland did not accept the result of the election.

He said: “I remain deeply concerned by the ongoing developments in Belarus and totally condemn the human rights abuses which we have seen take place since the flawed presidential election.

This result was not legitimate as evidenced by the intimidation and detentions which took place both before and after the election and the response of the state authorities to the large-scale and overwhelmingly peaceful protests which are now taking place across the country.  Ireland does not accept the election result as a true reflection of the democratic will of the Belarusian people.

Coveney said he commended the many thousands of people who have made their voices heard, including through the mass demonstrations we have seen over the weekend.

He also welcomed the decision to convene a special European Council on Wednesday and said he will be discussing the issue with his EU foreign minister colleagues over the next week. 

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Coveney added: “We will continue to press the Belarusian authorities to release all civilians who were unjustly detained and we fully support the initiation of a process of targeted sanctions.”

This afternoon, President Donald Trump said the United States is following events “very closely” in Belarus, describing it as a “terrible situation”. 

With reporting by © – AFP 2020