'Passenger Plane Forced Landing' Belarus Faces International Isolation

EU Likely to Ban Member States' Airspace Flights Over Belarus

At Minsk Airport, the capital of Belarus, on the 23rd (local time), airport staff conducted a search of the cargo of a Ryanair Boeing 737-8AS passenger plane with a sniffer dog. Minsk (Belarus) = EPA Photo

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Belarus, which forced a foreign-registered passenger plane flying to a neighboring country to land in its territory and arrested an anti-government activist on board, has drawn international condemnation and is expected to face sanctions. In particular, measures to ban Belarusian airlines from flying over European Union (EU) airspace are being considered, indicating that the aftermath of the incident is unlikely to subside easily.

According to The Guardian on the 24th (local time), the EU held an emergency meeting to respond to Belarus's forced landing of a foreign-registered passenger plane and decided to impose additional sanctions on Belarus.

The EU defined the forced landing of the passenger plane as an "act of hijacking" by the Belarusian government and demanded the immediate release of Raman Pratasevich, the Belarusian anti-government activist arrested on site. It also officially requested the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to investigate the matter.

Earlier, on the 23rd, a Ryanair passenger plane registered in Ireland, en route from Athens, Greece, to Vilnius, Lithuania, was forced to land at Minsk airport, the capital of Belarus, while passing through Belarusian airspace. The authorities explained that the reason for this action was a report of a suspected explosive device on board, and it is known that fighter jets were deployed to enforce the forced landing. Subsequently, local police arrested Pratasevich, an opposition activist on board.

Raman Pratasevich [Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

Ryanair stated that this forced landing incident was the first of its kind in European airline history and that agents of the Belarusian intelligence service appeared to have been on board the plane carrying Pratasevich.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, tweeted, "We will not let this matter pass," adding, "Heads of state will discuss additional sanctions." She said the sanctions would focus on individuals and entities involved in the forced landing and supporters of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's regime.

Previously, the EU sanctioned over 60 government officials, including President Lukashenko, for the Belarusian government's harsh crackdown on large-scale anti-government protests last year.

Additionally, EU leaders plan to designate Belarusian airspace as a dangerous area and urge European airlines to avoid flying over it. They also stated, "We will take necessary measures to ban Belarusian airlines from flying over EU airspace and accessing EU airports."

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Critical voices against Belarus are also spreading worldwide. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in Parliament, "Belarus's actions are very dangerous and reckless," calling them "a blatant violation of international law." Charles Michel, President of the European Council, described the incident as an "international scandal" and condemned it for "endangering European lives."

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also criticized the incident as "very shocking."

Moreover, Latvia and Belarus have mutually expelled all diplomats, and the Ukrainian government has suspended all civilian air routes with Belarus, escalating tensions between Belarus and European countries over the incident.

The Belarusian government claims the forced landing was due to a report that the Palestinian armed group Hamas had planted a bomb on board. However, the international community criticizes this claim as a false pretext to conceal the intention to arrest Pratasevich, as no concrete evidence has been presented. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there is "no basis at all" for Belarus authorities' accusation against Hamas.

There are also suspicions of cooperation by the Russian government in this incident. Foreign Secretary Raab said, "It is too early to draw conclusions," but added, "It is hard to believe this incident occurred without the knowledge of the Russian government."

Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus [Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

After Pratasevich was arrested by Belarusian authorities and detained locally, concerns about his health were raised. On the 24th, local police released a video showing him saying, "My health condition is fine. The police are treating me appropriately."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.