STOCKHOLM: Belarus expelled Sweden's ambassador on Friday, the latest in a series of diplomatic spats and tit-for-tat expulsions between the authoritarian state and other European nations. Sweden moved to take similar steps against Belarusian diplomats, while the Swedish foreign minister alleged his country's envoy was expelled “for being too supportive of human rights.”
Ambassador Stefan Eriksson was in Sweden on vacation when the expulsion was announced. He had previously met with opposition activists in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. That irritated the regime of Belarus's longtime leader, President Alexander Lukashenko, who rules the country with an iron fist, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said.
“This is a serious violation against the norms for relations between states,” Bildt said, adding: “The accusations (against Eriksson) lack substance. Basically, this is about Sweden being active in advocating democracy and human rights in Belarus — which is hardly a secret — and Ambassador Eriksson has in a deserving and important manner represented Sweden's policies on this.”
Bildt said Sweden in turn won't allow in the incoming Belarusian ambassador. Two Belarusian diplomats also have been asked to leave the Nordic country and their residency permits will be revoked, he told reporters in a telephone conference. Bildt added that he had spoken to the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, about the incident.
There was no immediate word from the Belarusian government on its decision to expel Eriksson or Sweden's response. But tensions have been rising between Belarus and the West, especially after the EU voted in February to add 21 names to a list of some 200 Belarusian officials who face an assets freeze and are prevented from traveling to EU countries because of alleged human rights violations.
Belarus reacted by telling the EU and Polish ambassadors to leave. The EU then announced it was recalling all its ambassadors to Belarus. In April, however, Sweden sent its ambassador back to Minsk.
The expulsion also comes weeks after a pair of Swedish activists used a light plane to drop hundreds of teddy bears bearing messages supportive of human rights into Belarusian territory.
Lukashenko fired two generals over the incident. Bildt, however, said there was no word that the teddy bear dropped was linked to the expulsion.
“That has not been mentioned in this context whatsoever,” he said, but noted “it might have had an impact on the general atmosphere.”
Belarus expels Sweden’s ambassador
