The United States and European Union have condemned a decree signed by authoritarian Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka prohibiting the renewal of passports by Belarusians living abroad.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on September 7 in a statement that the decision to stop providing overseas passport services harms thousands of Belarusians living abroad "and is the latest in a long line of cynical rejections by the regime of its basic obligations to its people."
Miller said the decree's sole aim was to make the lives of ordinary Belarusians living abroad more difficult and represented yet another form of oppression and retaliation against thousands of Belarusians who were forced to flee the country amid a crackdown on widespread demonstrations against the 2020 presidential election.
EU spokesman Peter Stano said earlier on September 7 that the decree published this week demonstrated how Lukashenka’s regime "completely disregards the fundamental rights of Belarusians."
Stano said the decree was another step by the "illegitimate regime" against Belarusians who were forced to flee abroad to escape repression and persecution.
He said the regime was trying to force expatriates to return to Belarus, where they would probably face repression.
"The European Union strongly condemns this decision, and we will continue to support Belarusians in their aspirations for democracy," Stano said.
The EU must understand what practical consequences the decree means for Belarusian citizens living in Europe before making further decisions, he added.
Until now the expatrates could get new passports at the country's diplomatic missions, but according to the decree, published on September 4, they can only get a new passport or renew an old one in Belarus.
Lukashenka's critics say the rule leaves Belarusians living abroad vulnerable to prosecution if they return to Belarus. The Belarusian opposition called the move a "repressive mechanism."