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Former presidential candidate Dmitri Uss urged the European Union to impose economic sanctions on his country. This was said in an open letter of the politician of March 19 to the Council of Ministers of the EU and EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton.
"I earnestly ask you to show wisdom, strength and determination to impose economic sanctions on Belarus, to help save the country from further falling, holding hard and fast economic and political reforms, changes in the field of human rights, liberalization of the Electoral Code and a new election - without A. G. Lukashenko," said Dmitri Uss.
He notes that since the presidential election in 2010 Belarus has been in deep economic and political crisis. According to him, there is no legitimate authority, while the "legislative, executive and judicial powers are in the hands of one man - Alexander Lukashenko." "Political prisoners are forcibly kept in prison; their life is in danger," said the former candidate.
Dmitri Uss stressed, Belarus has become a technologically backward country, many industries have not been modernized over 20 years, no investments are flowing into the country, while it’s risky to do business here, as "thousands of entrepreneurs and company directors are in jail." "Today Belarus is completely economically dependent on Russia (1.3 million Belarusians are working in Russia, 95% of Belarusian export goes to Russia: clothing, meat and dairy industry, mechanical engineering, industrial electronics, etc. ), the country gets hydrocarbons from Russia," he said.
The politician says that 30% of Belarusian men are dependent on alcohol, but the nation is degrading because of the high consumption of pure alcohol (12.4 liters per person per year). Since 1989 the population of the country has decreased by 900 thousand people, while the gross external debt has exceeded $34 billion (62.3% of GDP, or $3.6 thousand per person). Dmitri Uss also notes that Belarus shares the first place in the world with South Asia Brunei on the number of police officers (1044 persons per 100 thousand of population).
Dmitri Uss says that "Lukashenko’s regime exists due to the huge power structures, nomenclature, the oligarchs, court business and the balance of the contradictions between the EU and Russia," he said.
The politician notes that the European Parliament of Lithuania and Latvia, opposing the imposition of economic sanctions, are lobbying for the interests of businessmen of these countries, neglecting "the situation of human rights." "Statements by some Belarusian politicians that the Belarusian people might suffer from economic sanctions, which are increasing the Russian influence on Belarus, are immoral and blasphemous," he added.
As Telegraf previously reported, the European Parliament is preparing to expand the previously imposed sanctions. In particular, they plan to introduce point economic sanctions against Belarus if the Belarusian authorities don’t release political and civic activists, considered as political prisoners in Europe.
