Petras Auštrevičius: Lukashenka Should Be Stopped By More Specific And Painful Actions

The MEP has called for real and systematic measures against the regime in Belarus.

According to MEP Petras Auštrevičius, "it's time to move towards real action," because "they alone have an impact on the situation in Belarus".

This was stated by the politician to the Voice of America.

"Judging by the developments in Belarus, we should probably agree that neither Lukashenka himself, nor his entourage are getting ready to resign and leave the country alone," said Petras Auštrevičius.

In this regard, Auštrevičius believes that the time has come to talk about more systematic actions, rather than small steps [against the regime].

The Lithuanian politician explained that Lukashenka himself and members of his entourage are supposed to be the addressees of the actions.

"We must stop thinking that by making a statement or adopting another package of sanctions we'll be able to force them to change their behavior. Only more comprehensive measures can stop Lukashenka, including those that have not yet been applied. Therefore, we need to talk about universal jurisdiction, about Lukashenka's responsibility for violating the Chicago Convention [signed on December 7, 1944; the Convention on International Civil Aviation], about the torture against the opposition. It's all documented, we have platforms where we record (the facts of such crimes), we hold regular hearings, and so on. However, it's only for our own appeasement, while we have to try to change the events in a real way. He [Lukashenka] should be stopped by more concrete and painful actions, and European Union countries should be encouraged to apply the principle of universal jurisdiction, to help lawyers collect case files (on the crimes of Lukashenka's regime). And I think that such actions will convince Lukashenka that it's time to stop, it's time to resign and leave the country alone," said Auštrevičius.

On June 21, the EU Council approved the fourth package of sanctions against Belarus. The EU has approved the introduction of sanctions against 78 individuals and eight entities and is going to consider sectoral sanctions against Belarus this week. The EU has significantly toughened its position after the incident with the Ryanair plane in May.