Lukashenko Orders Closing Belarus’ Borders
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President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko instructed security officials to close the border.
“From today, not a single foot on the territory of Belarus from the adjacent side, whether from the south or the west, should not step,” the website of the leader of the country said.
Also at the meeting, the head of state instructed the security officials to strengthen work to protect the state border and prevent the facts of its violation.
Lithuania has recently announced an increase in the number of detained illegal migrants on the border with Belarus.
On July 2, the country’s authorities declared an emergency situation due to the influx of illegal migrants. According to the latest data, more than four thousand people have been detained at the border of the two countries since the beginning of the year.
In turn, Lukashenko stated that Belarus will no longer restrain illegal migrants to the EU countries – because of the Western sanctions, Minsk has “neither money nor strength for this.”
Meanwhile, the trial of two leading Belarusian opposition figures has begun behind closed doors at a court in Minsk.
Protest organizer Maria Kolesnikova was arrested last year after she tore up her passport to resist attempts by authorities to forcibly expel her to Ukraine.
She and opposition lawyer Maxim Znak have been charged with incitement to undermine national security.
If found guilty they could each face up to 12 years in prison.
Meanwhile, MSM is reporting that Belarus is allegedly building a “concentration camp” to fill with dissidents.
“Three layers of electrified fence. New security cameras. A military guard and a sign saying “Entry forbidden.” Windows with bars and reflective glass, on newly refurbished barrack buildings. All empty, bar the occasional security officer, deep in the forest of authoritarian Belarus,” CNN reported.
These are the indications, according to videos seen by CNN and witness statements, of a possible prison camp for political dissidents, recently constructed around an hour’s drive from the Belarusian capital Minsk, near the settlement of Novokolosovo. It sits on the site of a Soviet-era missile storage facility, which spans over 200 acres.
CNN has not been able to access the interior of the facility near Novokolosovo, and there are no signs the alleged camp has yet housed prisoners.
An unnamed western intelligence official told CNN the use of the facility as a prison camp was “possible,” although they did not have direct evidence to that effect. Locals in the town of Novokolosovo refer to the facility as “the camp.”
One unnamed resident was told to leave the area by military guards recently when he approached the site, said:
“My friend Sasha, a builder, told me they refurbished this place. There are three levels of barbed wire, and its electrified. I was picking mushrooms here when a military man came up to me and said that I can’t walk there.”
Two other witnesses also observed military patrols.
As such, these reports are based on unnamed accounts and a video.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
- With Friends Like These: Belarusian Activist Found Hanged In Kiev Park
- Political Olympic Games: Belarusian Sprinter Refuses To Board Flight To Minsk, Seeks Japanese Police Protection
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