Belarus Expels Swedish Ambassador, Counterattack for Teddy Bear Airdrop?

Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko sent Swedish ambassador Stefan Eriksson out of border claiming his communication with the opposition, public assumes it has something to do with the ‘teddy bear attack’ a month ago.

Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt said their ambassador was expelled for being too supportive of human rights. Although being allowed to communicate with the opposition is an identification of democracy, Belarus has criminalized any relations with the opposition party.

But might have a certain past event trigger Lukashenko to cut its ties with Sweden? A month ago, three members of a Swedish advertising firm fooled the Belarus air defence by “bombing” Lukashenko’s palace with 800 teddy bears, signs promoting democracy attached to them. Although Lukashenko hasn’t confirmed the connection between the two events, public suspects that this event that disrupted the seven year relationship with Eriksson to the dropping point.

According to Vienna Treaty on Diplomatic Relations, the receiving state may at any time expel diplomatic staff, according to norms developed over time, it must have a good reason. Public suspects those fluffy toys were the primary cause.

In these situations it’s common to cut the ties completely, after the incident Sweden asked its two Belarus ambassadors to leave.

One might argue that Bildt he overstepped his diplomatic role, ambassador is to serve official duties for his own country, to build a friendly atmosphere between the two countries and not to interfere with its business at home. Bildt is an activist in human rights, actively keeping his eye on Lebanon, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Lukashenko has been described as the ‘last dictator in Europe’ in power since1994 by somehow always winning the elections. He established a harsh dictatorship as president, amending the constitution to consolidate his authority. Government restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, peaceful assembly, and religion remain in place.

After the ‘teddy bear’ incident he fired two air force generals and delivered an official warning to the minister of defence and his deputy for “letting the organizers getting away with it.”

Those of civilians, two people have been arrested. One, Sergei Basharimov, a real estate agent, rented an apartment to Mr. Cromwell for his brief stay in Minsk. The other was Anton Suryapin, a young blogger and journalism student, who posted witnesses’ photographs of the incident on his blog.

“Ambassador Eriksson will continue his work with an even clearer focus on the work for democracy and human rights in Belarus,” Mr. Bildt says. “We will also, in consultation with other EU countries, examine ways to further strengthen these efforts.”

Tagged ambassador, Belarus, Sweden