“This area between the borders of Poland and Belarus is not an issue of migration, but part of Lukashenko’s aggression towards Poland, Lithuania and Latvia aimed at destabilizing the European Union,” she said in an interview.
“Lukashenko is using humans in a terrible way,” she said. He said that Belarus would no longer let him go after he was granted a visa in Belarus and brought to the border.
Mr. Lukashenko did the same thing at the borders Lithuania and Latvia, to retaliate against the EU for harsh sanctions against him and his government over apparently fraudulent elections and a fierce crackdown on the opposition.
The action turned out to be the state hijacking of a civilian flight between Greece and Lithuania to capture a young dissident, Roman Protasevich, and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega.
“We have a man in a neighboring country who is worse and worse, refusing free and fair elections, using violence, forcing a passenger plane between two member states and now third countries . is using innocent people,” said Ms. Johansson.
Still, she said, “the situation is not sustainable, and at the end of the day, they are human.”