Belarus imposes rules limiting citizens' ability to exit country to curb COVID-19 spread

In a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19, Belarus’ border security agency recently announced a severe tightening of already strict rules limiting citizens’ ability to exit the country. According to ANI, the agency said that the changes were temporary and designed to stop the spread of coronavirus. The rules now essentially block all land border crossings and even forbid the citizens who have long-term residency permits from abroad from leaving the nation. 

Belarus citizens have fled the former Soviet bloc country since Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner of a disputed presidential election last August and mass protests over election rigging were met with a severe crackdown. “fearing “ the prospect of a mass exodus of medical and IT experts, the government in Minsk also had made it more difficult for citizens to leave the country last December, by limiting departures of those citizens who could present long-term residency permits from foreign nations. The new restrictions now completely forbid the holders of such documents from leaving; however, those who can prove that they have permanent resident status in another nation will be permitted to travel abroad.

Following the announcement of the new restrictions, the opposition slammed Lukashenko’s government and termed the rules a “violation of the law”. Valery Kavaleuski, a representative for Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, called the move an “outright violation of the law”. He added that the rules “severely limited” the right of citizens to travel. 

EU cuts air links with Belarus 

It is imperative to mention that air travel to and from the country has also come to a virtual standstill in the wake of the recent government-ordered diversion of a Ryanair flight en route from Greece to Lithuania. The commercial aircraft was forced to land in Minsk under false pretences so that Belarus authorities could arrest Lukashenko’s critic Roman Pratasevich. The move outraged the world and the EU even blocked most flights to and over Belarus. 

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), on the other hand, said that it was “strongly concerned” by the forced landing of Ryanair flight FR4978 in Belarus. The UN aviation agency said that Belarus' actions are in violation of existing treaties. The International Air Transport Association also “strongly” condemned the incident and called for a full investigation by authorities. However, it is imperative to note that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, defended Belarus' use of military jet to divert passenger plane.

(With inputs from ANI)