Belarus state media on Saturday kept up a barrage of criticism against Western countries which it has accused of seeking to overthrow President Alexander Lukashenko during last month's presidential election.
As police in the ex-Soviet republic continued a sweep of opposition offices in the wake of unrest in which hundreds of activists were arrested, state-controlled newspapers accused European diplomats of attending a big opposition rally during the election with plans to stir up trouble.
"The participation of diplomats in unsanctioned meetings was taken by the crowd as support for their actions and awakened very zealous people to take decisive action," an article, published by several newspapers, said. It singled out diplomats from Britain, Sweden, Latvia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria.
On Friday, Sovietskaya Belarussia newspaper, a mouthpiece of Lukashenko's administration, accused the intelligence services of Germany and Poland of trying to organise a coup during the unrest that accompanied the December 19 election. Poland and Germany dismissed the allegations. The re-election of Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, led to huge protests and hundreds of arrests. Opponents and international observers denounced his landslide win as fraudulent.
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