BRUSSELS, March 24: European Union leaders agreed on Friday to impose sanctions on Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko over last weekend’s widely-condemned elections and the arrest of opposition protesters overnight.

Stepping up pressure on Belarus — which they called ‘a sad exception’ to democracy in Europe — the leaders said they would widen restrictions beyond the six visa bans now in place on Belarussian officials.

Polish Foreign Minister Stefan Meller said the measures would come into effect around April 10 and could involve more than a dozen people.

“It’s a penalty for (Lukashenko’s) sins. This is a fight of good against evil,” he said.

The move came hours after Belarus quashed an unprecedented protest against Mr Lukashenko, smashing a tent camp in Minsk and arresting hundreds of young opposition activists days after the veteran hardline leader was re-elected.

In conclusions from a summit of the 25-nation bloc, the leaders “decided to take restrictive measures against those responsible for the violations of international electoral standards including President Lukashenko.”

More travel bans are likely but assets could be also frozen.

On the final day of the summit, the leaders united in condemning the regime in the former Soviet republic, a close ally of Russia, and demanded that the authorities respect the protestors’ rights.

“We urge the Belarus authorities to respect the freedom of assembly and to release the prisoners,” said Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, whose country holds the EU presidency.

The Belgian presidency of the leading Western election-monitoring body, the OSCE, called on Minsk to halt the “persecution” and release those arrested.

“The authorities must immediately end the persecution of their opponents,” Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht said in a statement.

The EU leaders also urged Belarus’s giant neighbour Russia to help calm the tensions.

“We have to be tough, but we also have to speak with our Russian friends, that is the most important,” said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn.

Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson said: “We need to be more firm ... and demonstrate that we are united inside the European Union about how we look at the relations with Belarus but also with Russia.”

Plassnik would not mention Russia by name, but her message was clear: “As we said, we will continue to consult with our international partners.”

The protests began after Lukashenko was swept back to power in Sunday’s presidential election — officially winning some 83 percent of a vote condemned by the European Union and the United States, which also plans sanctions.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused in turn the OSCE of inciting tensions.

“Unfortunately, we saw a situation where the OSCE observer mission began talking about illegitimacy well ahead of the elections with quite a bit of taking sides, thus playing a role of instigator,” he said.

Joining the chorus of Europe-wide criticism, the Slovak foreign ministry urged Minsk to end the repression.

“Belarus can only find its place in the community of democratic states if it returns to a policy that respects democratic standards and freedoms and human rights,” a statement said.

In Budapest, the deputy Belarus ambassador was summoned to “convey the Hungarian government’s protest at the use of force,” a statement said.

Non-EU member Norway said the crackdown was totally unacceptable. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said: “This election has shown that Belarus is governed by an authoritarian regime that cannot be passively observed.”

Meanwhile Ukraine — the site of mass “orange revolution” protests over a rigged presidential election in 2004 — called on the regime to ensure the right “to peaceful assembly in accordance with accepted democratic norms, to be tolerant and to avoid repression and the use of force against the opposition.” —AFP