Belarusian regime has banned its citizens from leaving the country under increasing pressure from the United States and the international community

The Belarusian regime prohibited its citizens from leaving the country by land., authorizing it only to holders of a permanent residence permit in a foreign state, a measure denounced by the opposition as “flagrant violation” of the law.

This new attack comes in the middle of the growing pressure from the United States Yes the international community after the hijacking of the commercial aircraft to Minsk.

In a message posted on the Telegram network, the Belarusian border guard service indicated that “Recently, he received numerous requests to leave Belarus on the basis of a residence permit abroad.”

Only “citizens in possession of a document certifying their permanent residence in a foreign state” have the right to leave the country, continues the text, specifying that a “temporary residence permit (…) is not considered as a reason for traveling abroad”.

Belarus had already imposed restrictions on overseas travel in December 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic. In any case, leaving the country by road is only possible once every six months at most.

“The Lukashenko regime has severely curtailed Belarusians’ right to travel, claiming that there are reasons that do not justify leaving Belarus,” he said on his Twitter account. Valeri Kovalevski, Foreign Affairs Advisor to the main opponent of the regime, Svetlana Tijanovskaya. “However, the Constitution does not establish conditions”he added, denouncing an “absolute violation of the law”.

In this context, this Tuesday a delegation of US senators called for tougher economic sanctions against the Lukashenko regime, after meeting Tijanovskaya in the Lithuanian capital of Vilna.

The senator Rob portman He said the sanctions currently in place “have clearly not been effective enough”. “I will support broader sanctions that are sectoral, not only on individuals, but on places where the Lukashenko regime feels pain.”added.

Last week, The United States has said it is working with the European Union to impose new sanctions after what Belarus to divert flight to Lithuania, force him to land in Minsk then keep the dissident journalist on board Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega.

The senator Chris Murphy, meanwhile, said the plane incident was “glaring, something the world had never seen before,” while Senator Jeanne Shaheen He called it an “extraordinary abuse of power”.

Senators called for the release of Protasevich and Sapega, as well as other political prisoners in Belarus, and They said that new presidential elections should be held in this country.

“To Lukashenko, I say: it’s time for you to go. Make way for a democratically elected leader, more worthy of your people “Shaheen said.

Tijanovskaya said after the meeting that the situation in Belarus “is getting worse day by day”. “Lukashenko has clearly become a threat to international peace and security. The Belarusian crisis is not the exclusive problem of the Belarusian people “, he claimed.

Sanctions against nine Belarusian state-owned companies, reimposed by Washington in April following a crackdown on pro-democracy protests, will come into effect on Thursday.

Tijanovskaya welcomed the sanctions, but called for “more specific measures and sanctions against companies and industries that support the regime.”

Last Friday, the White House said in a statement that draws up with the European Union “a list of targeted sanctions against key members of the (Alexander) Lukashenko regime”.

“The forced hijacking by Belarus, under false pretenses, of a Ryanair commercial flight traveling between two member states of the European Union” and the arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich “constitute a direct challenge to international standards,” said the spokesperson for the White House, Jen Psaki.

The White House also issued a “Do not travel” warning to Belarus for US citizens and warned US airliners must “exercise extreme caution” if they plan to fly over Belarusian airspace.

He further confirmed that the Ministry of Justice, including The FBI is investigating the incident in cooperation with its European counterparts.

With information from AFP

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