In response to the expulsion of two British diplomats from Belarus, the British Foreign Ministry decided on Tuesday to take an equivalent step. Britain will not be intimidated by the Lukashenka regime, said the head of British diplomacy Domnic Raab.
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The decision to expel two British diplomats – military attaché Timothy Wight-Boycott and deputy ambassador Lisa Thumwood – was made “in connection with their activities inconsistent with the status of a diplomat and with the purposes of their stay in Belarus,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatol Hłaz told ONT television .
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A spokesman for the ministry of diplomacy noted that the Belarusian side considered them personae non gratae only because it had obtained confirmation of the “destructive nature of their activities”. – With this decision, the Belarusian side by no means closes the door to dialogue with our British colleagues and leaves it open – Hłaz noted.
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President of Belarus, Alexander LukashenkaNIKOLAI PETROV / PAP / EPA
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It was reported on the ONT television that, according to data from Belarusian authorities, diplomats collected information about the political situation in Belarus and the course of protests that were underway there. According to television, they were both noticed last Sunday when they watched the opposition’s protest action in Minsk. “According to the available information, since May this year, diplomats have met with representatives of opposition, social and human rights organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations. The military attache has often visited the province for this purpose,” says ONT.
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Thumwood, on the other hand, “coordinated the work of journalists from the BBC’s Brussels office who came to Belarus to report on the work of the election staff of the former presidential candidate Swiatlana Cichanouska and the protests.” The ONT maintains that both diplomats have already left Belarus.
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Dominic RaabShutterstock
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“Britain cannot be intimidated”
In response to Minsk’s move, the United Kingdom decided to expel two Belarusian diplomats from the country. “Today we expelled two Belarusian diplomats in response to the unjustified expulsion of (British) diplomats. Britain will not be intimidated by attempts by the Alyaksandr Lukashenka regime to stop us from talking about rigged elections and vile violence against the Belarusian people,” wrote the head of the British Foreign Ministry Domnic Raab on Twitter.
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Sunday was another day of protests in Belarus Reuters
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Raab also referred to the decision of the Belarusian authorities earlier. “The expulsion of two British diplomats for lawfully observing the protests in Minsk is completely unjustified. Independent reports show that this is part of a coordinated harassment campaign that targets (social) activists, the media and now also diplomats,” Raab wrote in issued statement.
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“Instead of trying to intimidate those who shed light on his repression, (Alyaksandr) Lukashenka must agree to free and fair elections and allow the people behind the violence against demonstrators to be held accountable,” added the head of the British Foreign Office.
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photo-source">Main photo source: Shutterstock
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