Lukashenko opens People s Assembly , saying blitzkrieg against Minsk failed
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Alexander Lukashenko / AP
Alexander Lukashenko has opened a Soviet-style All-Belarusian People s Assembly to discuss reforms and the country s development for the next five years, including possible amendments to the constitution, in an apparent move to survive ongoing mass protests against his rule, which the authoritarian ruler has blamed on the West, Poland, and the Baltics.
Lukashenko, 66, who has run the country since 1994, opened the assembly’s two-day session on February 11 saying that a foreign blitzkrieg on Belarus had failed. A colour revolution in Belarus was impossible. That is why, by getting support from certain domestic forces, [foreign nations] attempted to organise not a colour revolution, but a mutiny on the principle of a blitzkrieg. The blitzkrieg failed, Lukashenko said, addressing some 2,700 delegates to the assembly, mainly pro-government officials and people selected
Lithuanian, Polish foreign ministers agree on strategic agenda – Landsbergis 2021-02-08 BNS/TBT Staff
VILNIUS – Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said after meeting with his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau and Elzbieta Witek, marshal of the Polish Sejm, in Warsaw on Monday that they had agreed on a strategic agenda.
Landsbergis paid his first visit to Poland as Lithuania s foreign minister.
This year, Lithuania and Poland will mark the 230th anniversary of the Constitution of May 3 and Mutual Pledge of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations, as well as the 30th anniversary of the recognition of Lithuania s restored independence and of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries.
Baltic states urge CoE, OSCE to take action in response to violence in Russia 2021-02-02 LETA/BNS/TBT Staff
VILNIUS – The three Baltic foreign ministers on Tuesday called on the Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to take action in response to detentions of protestors and journalists in Russia. On the initiative of Lithuania, the foreign ministers of the Baltic states sent letters to the heads of the CoE and the OSCE, condemning the use of violence against peaceful protesters by Russian authorities and calling on the international community to take immediate action to stop mass detentions of protestors and journalists across Russia, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
Baltic states urge international probe into human rights violations in Russia
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Alexei Navalny s arrest sparked protests across Russia / AP
The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have called on the international community to take action against the Russian government in response to detentions of protesters and journalists.
In the joint letter addressed to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe, the Baltic ministers raised alarm at the growing repression of human rights defenders, civil society and the media in Russia, and call for an investigation into human rights violations .
According to them, these actions place Russia in violation of its international obligations, including the principles for the protection and promotion of human rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights .