Minsk, Belarus
The European Union this week banned Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka from traveling to any of the 25 E.U. countries. E.U. foreign ministers said the travel ban was intended to punish Lukashenka for “the violations of international electoral standards and international human-rights law, as well as for the crackdown on civil society and democratic opposition.” An unprecedented 10,000 pro-democracy activists rallied in Minsk last month to protest Lukashenka’s re-election as president, but the protests fizzled after police arrested hundreds. Lukashenka said the Western countries that condemned his victory as fraudulent were simply trying to “humiliate” Belarus.
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