English

Council of Europe secretary general calls on Belarus to reverse its decision to expel Swedish diplomats

Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, has called on the Belarusian government to reverse its decision to expel the Swedish embassy staff from Minsk.

"President Lukashenko's [Lukashenka's] decision last Friday to expel Sweden's ambassador to Belarus over his support for democracy and human rights in the country will not help to end Belarus' isolation from the rest of Europe," Mr. Jagland said on Friday, according to the Council of Europe press office. "Moreover, the latest decision of the Belarus authorities to terminate the activities of Sweden's diplomats in Belarus will only disadvantage the people of Belarus, particularly students and the business community, whose contacts with European colleagues will become more difficult. Such a situation unfortunately shows the continued disregard of the authorities in Belarus for basic democratic principles and human rights."

"Nothing should prevent the development of cooperation throughout our continent and between all Europeans, Mr. Jagland says. I therefore call upon the Belarus authorities to reverse their decision and to return to dialogue. The Council of Europe, as the guardian of democracy and human rights, will continue to do all it can to promote human rights and democracy in Belarus and to raise awareness amongst the people of Belarus about European values." //BelaPAN