Belarusians in Warsaw on Hunger Strike in Front of the European Commission Received Answer to Petition

Brussels confirmed that it was preparing sectoral sanctions against Lukashenka's regime.

The Belarusians from Warsaw, who kept a hunger strike for ten days under the building of the European Commission, seeking the imposition of economic sanctions against Lukashenka's regime, received an answer to their petition.

Recall, the Belarusian diaspora in the Polish capital has collected 4156 signatures in support of tough sanctions against the official Minsk.

One of the participants of the hunger strike, the granddaughter of the first leader of independent Belarus, Stanislau Shushkevich, representative of the Belarusian Youth Hub Stasya Hlinnik published the reply of the European Commission to the petition.

"Dear Petitioner,

I would like to thank you for your letter of June 4, in which you call for tough measures to be taken against Lukashenko and his regime in Belarus, and for your petition to the European Commission.

The European Union condemns the repressions we are witnessing in Belarus, including the detainment of numerous political prisoners and human rights activists. We are leading the international response to the situation in Belarus and have taken clear action. We have imposed sanctions on 84 individuals and 7 entities responsible for the suppression and intimidation of peaceful protesters, opposition members and journalists, and for the misconduct of the electoral process. To give one concrete example of the effect of the sanctions on the operation of the listed entities: the Belarusian Minister of Industry Piotr Parkhomchik acknowledged that companies from two EU Member States halted deliveries to Belarusian entities.

Our sanctions have also a reputational impact and we know they influenced the decisions of non-EU operators when engaging in business activities in Belarus. Our sanctions are supported also by a broad range of partners outside the EU and we remain in close consultation with like-minded partners.

We have taken note of your demands in the petition. Unfortunately, we cannot pre-announce sanctions listings, as this would be detrimental to their effectiveness. However, as the aggression of the Belarusian authorities has been lifted to a new level, our response by means of sanctions will also be lifted. The EU intends to adopt targeted economic sanctions as part of the upcoming fourth package and the High Representative and the European Commission are working on proposals to the EU Council to this end. This will be the largest package yet.

I would like to assure you that the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms remain at the core of EU actions. The European Union commends your bravery and strength in exercising your fundamental democratic freedoms.

Yours sincerely, Richard Tibbels," the response to the petition reads.

"We, in turn, would like to thank the EU for the measures taken and hope that the response of the democratic world will be relevant - although the measures taken are tougher than ever, they are still not enough. Keep our fingers crossed, listen to hearts!

Long Live Belarus!", wrote Stasya Hlinnik on Facebook.