“The sharp reaction of law enforcement officers, use of force against peaceful protesters, and arbitrary detentions are unacceptable,” the foreign ministry in Warsaw said.
In a statement, the ministry urged the authorities in Poland’s eastern neighbour to “stop actions that escalate the situation and start respecting fundamental human rights.”
Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz told state news agency PAP: “A brutal crackdown on protesters and the first post-election decisions of the Belarusian authorities do not… give grounds for optimism.”
He added: “Although it is not our role to decide on the validity of the elections in Belarus, we cannot say that they met democratic standards.”
Earlier, the presidents of Poland and Lithuania urged the Belarusian authorities to uphold “basic democratic standards” as police in that country cracked down on protests.
After late night clashes between police and thousands of demonstrators who said the vote in Belarus’s presidential election was rigged, the country’s central election commission said on Monday that Alexander Lukashenko had won a landslide re-election victory.
(pk)
Source: Polish Foreign Ministry/Reuters