Belarusian television claims Stefan Eriksson ”was engaged in subversive activity in our country”
- 4.08.2012, 15:29
Official Belarusian TV-channels told “the truth” about the Swedish ambassador.
Yesterday evening TV-channels Belarus-1 and ONT reported on the expulsion of Swedish ambassador Stefan Eriksson.
In “Panorama”, Eriksson followed news from London 2012 and harvest. In the report, Foreign Minister Siargey Martynau’s statement that he had made previously that day was broadcast first.
The report ‘s author Siargey Gusachenka emphasized that a departure of an ambassador is a routine, and that the Internet rush around the news is confusing.
Then the floor was given to Siargey Musiyenka, the head of the pro-Lukashenka analytical center EcooM, Nasha Niva reports.
According to Musiyenka, Eriksson’s accreditation was not prolonged which is why the ambassador who by the way had stayed a very long term in Minsk was expelled. Musiyenka pointed out that during this time, with some diplomatic effort Belarus and Sweden could have made a real break-through in their economic relations. Eriksson however did nothing in this regard.
Musiyenka even mentioned that the fact that the Swedish IKEA still hasn’t entered the Belarusian market is also Eriksson’s fault.
And after that Musiyenka presented one condemnation after another:
“He tried to harm our country as much as possible,” “tried to cause a conflict between our countries,” “was engaged in subversive activity in our country”.
Musiyenka insists that he knows for the fact that in December 2010, before the presidential election, Stefan Eriksson ”personally gave instructions and money to radical opposition groups”. Moreover, according to Musiyenka, the premises of the embassy were used not only for diplomatic purposes; inside the embassy “representatives of radical groups were taught to attack the police and arrange provocative actions against ordinary citizens”.
Furthermore, Musiyenka mentioned “the attempt to transfer objects of about 20 thousand dollar value that were to be re-sold”; the objects were confiscated by the customs. He also told about “a party of literature with unknown contents and with no documentation.”
ONT showed a similar report.
We remind that the state media launched a campaign against the Swedish ambassador on Tuesday when the presidential newspaper Sovetskaya Byelorussia accused Eriksson of being too active.