European Union refuses to recognise Belarusian president following dubious vote and police violence

Police responded to Wednesday's protests against Alexander Lukashenko with a ferocious crackdown

Credit: TUT.by/AFP

The European Union in a rare show of unity on Thursday said that it won’t recognise Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimate leader of Belarus.

Mr Lukashenko’s landslide victory in August’s rigged vote sparked protests that were reignited on Wednesday after Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years,  held a clandestine swearing-in ceremony. 

Mr Lukashenko’s security forces led a ferocious crackdown on opposition protests in the days following the elections.

Hundreds of people have reported injuries, torture or mistreatment at the hands of law enforcement.

The EU’s diplomatic chief said in a statement on Thursday that the ceremony and “the new mandate claimed by Alexander Lukashenko lack any democractic legitimacy.”

“This ‘inauguration’ directly contradicts the will of large parts of the Belarusian population, as expressed in numerous, unprecedented and peaceful protests since the elections, and serves to only further deepen the political crisis in Belarus.”

The tough stance on Mr Lukashenko comes just a few days after European foreign ministers failed to agree on potential sanctions on Belarus after Cyprus blocked the plan, citing the lack of joint EU action against Turkey.

A woman flashes the V-sign near police vans in Minsk

Credit: TUT.BY/AFP via Getty Images

Thousands of Belarusians took to the streets of capital Minsk and other cities on Wednesday evening to protest against Mr Lukashenko’s rule.

Police responded with a ferocious crackdown not seen since the election week. Riot police deployed several water cannons as plainclothes policemen with ski masks batons went a rampage around town, beating up and detaining people.

Footage from the scene showed riot police attacking and smashing several cars for allegedly blocking traffic.

More than 300 people are now in custody waiting for court hearings, according to the Belarusian Interior Ministry. Mr Lukashenko in a speech televised on Wednesday evening thanked riot police for “stopping that scum on the clean, cozy streets of our Minsk."

A Belarusian law enforcement officer uses tear gas to disperse a crowd

Credit: REUTERS

On Wednesday, several European countries including the UK and Germany took a stand and publicly refused to recognise Mr Lukashenko as the legitimate president.

“Lukashenko’s secret inauguration in Minsk today brings him further into disrepute,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab tweeted on Wednesday.

“His rigged election was a fraud on the Belarusian people.”

The president of Turkmenistan was reportedly the only world leader who congratulated Mr Lukashenko on Wednesday.

The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had no idea the ceremony would happen on Wednesday and refused to comment.