Lyabedzka: Shagal should meet political prisoners instead of politicians
The Israeli Ambassador should apologize for his words instead of hushing up the conflict, the politician thinks.
The United Civil Party has refused to send its representative to the meeting with Israeli Ambassador Iosif Shagal. The decision was made on the evening of February 13 – on the eve of the diplomat’s meeting with the Belarusian opposition leaders.
UCP leader Anatol Lyabedzka told Euroradio about it.
Lyabedzka: “This is not his first statement. The best he could do in the situation is talk to political prisoners’ relatives and friends and beg them to forgive him.”
The meeting with opposition leaders is an attempt to hush up the conflict, Lyabedzka thinks. The Ambassador wants to accuse journalists of misunderstanding him. There are no political prisoners in Belarus – there are criminals, Shagal told RTVI earlier.
Belarusian politicians sent a letter to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on February 13, Lyabedzka said.
Lyabedzka: “We need to find out whether this is Iosif Shagal’s personal opinion or the official position of the Israeli government. This is the first thing we need to know now.”
The politician is hoping that the Israeli authorities will not support their Ambassador’s statement. It would be logical to demand that the Israeli MFA changed its Ambassador to Belarus then, Lyabedzka said.
