THE ACROSS-the-board economic sanctions imposed by the EU on Belarus will not resolve the country's problems with its undemocratic regime, concurred participants of a debate on Belarus in Bratislava on April 26, the TASR newswire reported.
The debate concerning the effects of Alexander Lukashenko's regime on ordinary people in the country was organised by the People in Peril civil association. It was attended by former Slovak foreign affairs minister and current MEP Eduard Kukan (SDKÚ), Belarusian journalists and ordinary Slovaks, mainly university students.
"When it came to the effectiveness of sanctions against Lukashenko's undemocratic regime, those taking part in the debate advocated adopting targeted sanctions against top representatives of the regime," Eva Sládková from People in Peril told TASR.
According to Belarusian journalists, the EU would help the people of Belarus more if it made the process of acquiring visas easier so that Belarusians could travel to EU countries.
The debate also touched on the upcoming World Ice-hockey Championships, which are due to take place in Minsk on May 9.
"The Belarusian journalists present didn't view the calls to boycott the championships in protest against Lukashenko's regime as fortunate," said Sládková, as quoted by TASR. "They believe that the presence of the western media could reveal something from real life in Belarus, something that wouldn't appear in the official local media.”
Source: TASR
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports.
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information
presented in its Flash News postings.
