I read on ESC Today that a group of European Union MEP's now asked for political action and sanctions against Belarus, following the highly criticised presidential elections in December. These sanctions could possibly lead to Belarus being expelled from pan-european events like the Eurovision Song Contest.
In parts, not a bad idea. The belarusian nation deserves better than having an increasingly erratic old dictator in charge, and Europe has turned a blind eye to the problem for too long already.
But forcing them out of Eurovision? That would not be a great idea. EBU has had no problem with shady regimes in the past. Greece, Spain, Portugal and Turkey (this is not a complete list) have all had very dubious governments in the past, but were all allowed inside anyway.
Also, it is a good idea to let the people of Belarus see at least one show per year that is not served up by the state controlled national television. Let them stay in, I say!
Aleksandra & Konstantin - My Galileo (Belarus 2004)
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