Activists calling for imposing sanctions on Belarus over arrest of Ukraine citizen
The arrest of Ukrainian journalist Pavlo Sharoiko in Minsk puts Belarus on a par with the Putin regime, Ukraine’s Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Research says.
The Center is calling for making a stand against Alyaksandr Lukashenka‘s participation in the upcoming EaP summit in Brussels.
“In fact, when it comes to the attitude to Ukraine, Belarus compared itself with Russia. And our attitude to it should be appropriate,” they say in a statement.
The statement lists the Belarusian regime’s actions directed against Ukraine, i.e. a proposal to send Belarusian peacekeepers in Donbas; holding the military gane Zapad-2017, voting against the UN resolution on Crimea, the detention of Pavlo Hryb and Pavlo Sharoiko.
The Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Research is set to launch a campaign to impose sanctions and pursuing a tougher policy towards Belarus in all fields – security, economy, information, diplomacy.
“One should immediately take sanctions measures against Minsk. In particular, on November 24 Brussels will host a summit of the Eastern Partnership, to which Alyaksandr Lukashenka has been invited – for the first time in many years. The Center believes that Ukraine should come out against the participation of the Belarusian President in the Brussels summit, because the fact of Lukashenka’s being at the same table with European leaders (including the President of Ukraine) will neutralize not only the EU policy of deterring Russian aggression, but also the very essence of the European Union with its zero tolerance to disregarding basic human rights, intimidating human rights activists and persecuting journalists,” the statement reads.
UA: Ukrainian Radio employee Pavlo Sharoiko was arrested in Minsk in late October. The police raided the apartment where Pavlo and his family were staying. Ukrainian Ambassador in Belarus Ihor Kizim has confirmed that Sharoiko is accused of espionage.
On November 15, another citizen of Ukraine was detained by the KGB in Minsk.
