U.S. Condemns Belarus Crackdowns, Rejects Election Results
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The U.S. government said it rejects as illegitimate the re-election of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and “strongly condemns” a crackdown on demonstrators protesting the longtime leader’s return to office.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs today called on Belarus authorities to release demonstrators who have been detained. At the State Department, spokesman Philip J. Crowley denounced beatings, arrests and the use of “excessive force” against opposition politicians, journalists and civil activists, some of whom tried to storm the parliament to protest Lukashenko’s re-election yesterday.