Belarus has no plans to boycott Olympics – minister

PanARMENIAN.Net - Belarus has no plans to boycott the Olympics after President Alexander Lukashenko was refused entry to Britain, RIA Novosti reported citing the Belarusian minister for sports and tourism.

Lukashenko was denied accreditation because of the flawed presidential elections of 2010, when he was accused of overseeing a brutal crackdown on opposition forces, arresting hundreds of people including presidential candidates, the British Embassy in Belarus said.

Lukashenko is also head of Belarus’ Olympic Committee and visited the last Olympics in Beijing, but the London Games do not give him an exemption from an existing European Union travel ban, the embassy said.

“The planned work to prepare for taking part in the Games is continuing,” Sports and Tourism Minister Vladimir Nestrerovich said when asked about rumored boycott plans. “There’s absolutely no desire to waste energy on anything that is not related to the main task.”

The Olympics start in London on Friday, July 27, and run until August 12.

Lukashenko sent off his Olympic team to London earlier this month, setting them a target of 25 medals.

Labeled by the United States as Europe's last dictator, he also said the games were "politicized."