Belarus called ‘totalitarian state’ by senior UN official

Forced grounding of passenger plane to arrest dissident ‘recalls purges in totalitarian states’

(AFP via Getty)

Belarus is acting as a “totalitarian” state and trying to forcibly prevent any form of opposition to the regime, the UN’s special rapporteur for the country has said.

Speaking as she presented her annual report to the UN’s Human Rights Council, Anaïs Marin said the forced grounding of a passenger jet as it flew through Belarusian airspace in order to detain a dissident journalist on board, was reminiscent of the worst excesses of repressive dictatorships.

The shocking episode in May “illustrates the desire of authorities to end all forms of dissidence by purging society of elements it considers undesirable,” Ms Marin said on Monday.

"It is a form of purge that recalls those practised by totalitarian states."

Alexander Lukashenko, the strong-man leader who has ruled Belarus practically since its independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, has led a violent crackdown on dissent since mass protests began last year.

The protest movement was sparked by disputed elections in August, in which Mr Lukashenko claimed to have won 80% of the vote and thus a sixth term in office, but which most international observers described as rigged.

Huge crowds have regularly taken to the streets despite violent repression from security forces, but the authorities have arrested thousands including dozens of political opposition figures.

Ms Marin told the Human Rights Council Belarus had arbitrarily detained more than 35,000 people since the protests back last year, and demanded 530 political prisoners including many opposition candidates in the election, be immediately released.

The situation in the former Soviet state was deteriorating rapidly, she also warned. Numerous reports had been received by her office from victims and witnesses of torture by security forces, mostly during the dispersal of peaceful demonstrations.

Those brave enough to take to the streets faced “disproportionate cruelty” and the numbers of those subjected to “torture, beatings, physical and psychological punishment and other humiliation of human dignity” reached into the thousands.

The United States may be considering fresh sanctions against Belarus and the Lukashenko regime, the country’s delegate to the Human Rights Council has hinted.

Washington imposed economic sanctions against key figures in the Belarusian government after the downing of the passenger plane in May, but speaking in response to Ms Marin’s report, the country’s representative said more may be in the pipeline.

“Such contempt for international norms cannot go unanswered," said the US delegate, describing the incident as "sickening". "We will consider further actions as necessary," he added, in reference to sanctions.