Former presidential candidate in Belarus Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called the EU sanctions against some officials of the republic a “mockery”. She made such a statement in an interview with the British newspaper The Times, published on Sunday, February 21.
“Only 90 people are under sanctions. This is a mockery, ”the opposition spokeswoman said.
According to her, people in Minsk laugh at this fact.
Tikhanovskaya also said that she was disappointed with the reaction of the international community to the events in the republic. At the same time, she stressed that the fact that the West did not recognize Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimate winner of the presidential election was very important.
“They showed support, but didn’t want to solve the problem,” she said in an interview with the publication.
The ex-candidate for the Belarusian leader has appealed to impose sanctions against “those involved in cruel crimes and judges who condemn innocent people,” and also asked for help from civil society, the newspaper notes.
Earlier on the same day, it became known that Tikhanovskaya admitted the fact of the “loss of streets” by the opposition forces. For now, she said, the forces opposing the country’s government seem to have lost.
According to her, the actions on the streets of Belarusian cities may begin after the opposition is better organized. She admitted that this could happen in the spring.
After the presidential elections held in Belarus on August 9, in which Alexander Lukashenko won for the sixth time, who, according to the CEC, gained 80.1% of the vote, massive opposition protests began in the country.
Tikhanovskaya, having initiated the creation of a coordination council in the republic, left the country and settled in Lithuania. The voting results were not recognized by the United States and European countries.
In addition, the EU has introduced three packages of sanctions against Belarus. The first package of restrictions against Minsk was introduced by the European Union on October 2, the second – on November 6, the NSN specifies. They touched upon 55 representatives of the country’s leadership, including President Alexander Lukashenko and representatives of power structures. They were banned from entering the territory of the European Union. If their accounts in European banks are found, they are subject to freezing.
The third package of European sanctions against Belarus was introduced on December 17. 29 individuals and seven legal entities were added to the black list.
Minsk answered in a mirror-like manner.
On December 23, 2020, the US State Department announced the introduction of visa restrictions on 39 persons whom Washington considers to be involved in “undermining democracy” in Belarus. Also, sanctions were imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department: the objects were a civil servant and four departments of the country.