PoliticoUS plans new sanctions against the ‘North Korea of Europe’
- US ambassador-designate to Belarus says White House working on a new executive order
- Belarus opposition leader says country has become ‘North Korea of Europe’ under President Lukashenko
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Andrew Desiderio on politico.com on June 9, 2021.
The US effort comes amid rising tensions between Minsk and the West over Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy activists and a free press, part of his scramble to cling to power despite having lost last year’s presidential election. Just last month, the Lukashenko regime sparked international criticism after forcing a commercial airliner to land in Belarus' capital city to arrest a key opposition figure and journalist who was on board.
Currently, Biden is relying on an executive order from 2006 to sanction Belarus in the wake of its provocative grounding of the Ryanair jet. But lawmakers in both parties want the president to sign a new, up-to-date executive order and consider imposing human-rights sanctions on Belarus using existing authorities from Congress, moves that would avert the need for a new sanctions bill.
“The more we wait, the more impunity takes place,” warned Democrat Senator Bob Menendez, the chair of the Foreign Relations panel. “It is time to increase the pressure.”