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SWEDISH TEDDY BEAR DROP

HUMAN RIGHTS

Belarus asks Lithuania to probe teddy bear claims

Lithuania on Friday was mulling a request by Belarus to probe claims by Swedish human rights activists that they flew across the border to make a drop of freedom teddy bears, angering Minsk.

Belarus asks Lithuania to probe teddy bear claims

Prosecutors in the Baltic state said they were asked for legal assistance “to investigate a possible breach of the state border when a Swedish-piloted light aircraft crossed the Lithuanian-Belarus border.”

“Currently data is being collected, and the request for legal assistance will be considered,” Ruta Dirsiene, the state prosecutors’ spokesman told AFP.

The move came after Swedish activists illegally flew a plane into Belarus last month dropping hundreds of teddy bears attached to little parachutes carrying signs calling for freedom of speech and human rights.

Belarus — ruled by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko — has since expelled all Swedish diplomats and threatened consequences for Lithuania after the incident orchestrated by a Swedish advertising firm.

“Lithuania should not be sitting like mice under a broom. They must answer to us why they provided their territory for national border violation,” Lukashenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency on Thursday.

“If there is anyone who won’t find it funny, it is Lithuania,” Lukashenko warned.

Lithuanian officials have refused to comment.

“If teddy bears are a threat to the Belarusian administration, Lukashenko’s regime must be cracking at the seams,” Nerijus Maliukevicius, a political scientist at Vilnius University told AFP Friday.

He also drew a parallel between the teddy bear incident and the prosecution of the anti-Putin girl punk rock band Pussy Riot in Russia.

“Vladimir Putin and Lukashenko have come up against a tremendous evil to fight — Pussy Riot and teddy bears.

“This should be viewed in an indulgent or humorous manner, however. Their behaviour is characteristic of authoritarian leaders. It may seem funny to us, but it is a tragedy for those who face it,” Maliukevicius added.

Like Belarus, Lithuania won independence from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991.

But the two countries have followed very different paths since then.

Lithuania is firmly anchored in the West, having joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.

Later on Friday, ambassadors from the 27 EU states will meet to respond to the expulsion by Belarus of Swedish diplomats.

Brussels has already imposed a raft of sanctions against Belarus over its jailing of citizens for political reasons.

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LUFTHANSA

UPDATE: Germany-Russia flights resume after tit-for-tat cancellations

Airline companies said flights between Germany and Russia had resumed Wednesday evening, after each country blocked the other's incoming flights as part of the fall-out from tensions over Belarus.

UPDATE: Germany-Russia flights resume after tit-for-tat cancellations
Lufthansa flights await takeoff at Munich Airport. Photo: Christof Stache/AFP

German airline Lufthansa told AFP that the Russian authorities had finally granted it clearance for passenger flights to Russia in June.

“That means Lufthansa flights to Moscow and Saint Petersburg can be operated as planned,” said a spokeswoman for the airline.

In Russia, Mikhail Poluboyarinov, chief executive of Aeroflot told the TASS news agency: “Everything is fine, we have received all the authorisations.”

And another Russian airline, S7, said it too had received clearance for its flights to Germany, the Ria Novosti agency reported.

Earlier Wednesday, Germany’s transport ministry said it had blocked flights operated by Russian airlines from arriving in its territory after Moscow failed to provide authorisations for Lufthansa.

Two Russia-bound Lufthansa flights due to depart earlier Wednesday from Germany had been cancelled because Russian authorities did not provide the necessary permits for them in time, the ministry said.

“Due to the reciprocal practice, the Federal Aviation Authority also did not issue any further permits for flights operated by Russian airlines as long as authorisations are pending on the Russian side,” it added.

Three Aeroflot flights were affected by the cancellations on Tuesday and another four on Wednesday, the ministry said.

“Once permits for Lufthansa flights are granted by the Russian site, the flights of Russian airlines will also be authorised,” it added.

Previous cancellations

Neither the ministry nor the airlines concerned mentioned the reason for the flights being blocked.

But some flights operated by European airlines including Air France and Austrian Airlines — a subsidiary of Lufthansa — were cancelled last week after Moscow rejected flight plans that would have skipped Belarusian airspace.

Lufthansa has confirmed that it is no longer flying over Belarus after the EU urged airlines to avoid the country’s airspace.

READ ALSO: Germany summons Belarus envoy over forced Ryanair landing

The EU’s advice came after the Belarusian regime forced the diversion of a Ryanair Athens-Vilnius plane to Minsk in order to arrest an opposition journalist on board.

Moscow last week said the cancellation of several European flights to Moscow was down to “technical reasons”.

Eurocontrol, which coordinates air traffic control in the EU, said flights between Europe and Russia “have permission to use defined air corridors.

“If one company changes these routes, there has to be prior agreement between the company concerned and Russia.”

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