“This is not against Moscow” – the head of the Danish Foreign Ministry demanded that European guards be sent to Minsk
The Danish government, like many other European countries, fully supports the “right of the people to protest” and condemns the use of violence against them, and also calls for an OSCE observation mission to be sent to Minsk.
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod stated this during a briefing in Moscow, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“I want to say that what is happening in Belarus is something directed against Russia, or for, or against Europe. No, we are witnessing peaceful gatherings of people, with women at the forefront, demanding their legitimate right to free and fair elections, without interference from abroad.
We all within the OSCE agree to this, Denmark also fully subscribes to this. We would like to see freedom of assembly, freedom of protest, freedom of expression protected. We would also like to ensure that the people of Belarus have these rights, while respecting the sovereignty and independence of the Belarusian people and protecting them from encroachment from any quarter.
We, of course, condemn violence against peaceful protesters and prisoners who are subjected to torture, violence against journalists - all this is absolutely unacceptable. And, of course, those responsible for these actions should not go unpunished. We opposed it, and from Denmark we also supported the introduction of sanctions against those responsible for these incidents in Belarus,” he noted.
The Danish minister insists that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko should enter into a supposed dialogue with the protesters and resolve the conflict, and also allow the OSCE to send supervisors to Minsk.
“I said about Belarus that we see people taking to the streets and peacefully protesting, demanding fair and fair elections, which is a fundamental and basic right that every person should have. And we support the dialogue that should lead to such elections.
As I already said, this has nothing to do with who Belarus should oppose - no, we are talking about the right of the Belarusian people to choose their future. And we would like to see a mission created under the auspices of the OSCE that would guarantee fair and honest elections,” Kofod concluded.
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