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The dictatorship of Belarus defended his move to transfer flights to Europe on Wednesday, which triggered sanctions on the European Union and accused the West of launching a “hybrid war” to “strangle” the former Soviet Union.
On Sunday, Belarusian flight controllers ordered the landing of a Ryanair airliner flying over the country because of a bomb threat. A Belarusian fighter jet was escorted to Minsk before landing from Athens, Greece to Vilnius, Lithuania. . After the plane landed, Belarusian security agents arrested 26-year-old journalist and activist Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko denied that fighters forced the Ryanair plane to land as an “absolute lie,” and defended his actions to divert the bomb flight in response to the bomb threat.
Lukashenko said: “I act in a legal way and protect the people in accordance with international rules.” Lukashenko ruled Belarus with an iron fist for more than 25 years, ruthlessly stifling dissidents.
Angry EU leaders quickly agreed to prohibit Belarusian Airlines from using the airspace and airports of the 27-nation group, urge European airlines to avoid entering Belarusian airspace, and impose sanctions on officials related to the diversion. They said the European Union will impose more sanctions on companies that target the main profiters of the Lukashenko regime.
Speaking in front of lawmakers and senior officials in Minsk, Lukashenko said that the EU’s response was part of a “hybrid war” against Belarus.
Lukashenko said: “Our bad guys at home and abroad have changed their methods of attacking the country.” “That’s why they switched from organizing riots to trying to kill us.”
Months of protest
Lukashenko is facing unprecedented pressure in the country. He was re-elected for the sixth term in the August 2020 election, which triggered months of protests. The opposition rejected Lukashenko’s election on the grounds of manipulation. But his suppression has only doubled. Since the beginning of the protests, more than 35,000 people have been arrested and thousands have been beaten.
Lukashenko said: “They have crossed a lot of red lines, and they have also restricted rationality and morale.” “This is no longer an information war, it is a modern hybrid war, and we need to do everything we can to prevent it from spreading to a fierce one. In conflict.”
He threatened that Belarus would now take retaliatory action by weakening border controls to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking in retaliation by the West.
He said: “We are stopping immigration and drugs, and now you will catch them and eat them yourself.”
Watch | Belarusian opposition leaders call on Western powers to put more pressure on Lukashenko:
Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya (Svetlana Tikhanovskaya) said that the transfer flight was a direct result of Western democracies such as Canada, and there was no early action against President Alexander Lukashenko. Act hard. 5:47
Protasevich left Belarus in 2019 and is now Lukashenko’s number one enemy. He runs a popular messaging app that has played a role in helping organize large-scale protests. Key role. After being arrested, a short video tape was broadcast on Belarusian state television late on Monday. After seeing the reporter, he quickly spoke and said that he acknowledged some of the allegations made by the authorities against him.
Protasevich was charged with being absent, causing massive riots and inciting social hatred. These people will be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, and some people worry that Protasevich may face more severe charges, including some of the death penalty charges.
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