The organizers of this year's Eurovision Song Contest have eliminated Belarus. According to the reasoning of the decision, the song from a band that was previously considered to write lyrics that mock the anti-government demonstrations violates the terms of the competition.
A few days ago, the organizers rejected the participation of Belarus, which has been plagued by a political crisis since August last year. The country's song "Galasy ZMesta" was mocked by protesters against President Alexander Lukashenko and provoked reactions from opposition figures in Belarus.
Following the rejection of the song by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Belarus submitted another song by the same band, but it was rejected late last night.
The EBU said in a statement that it "carefully considered the new entry to assess whether it met the requirements to participate", but found that it "violates the rules of the competition which ensure that the competition is not exploited and not discredited".
This means that Belarus will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest at all, the EBU announced.
The Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Rotterdam on May 18-22.
The opposition movement has grown in Belarus against the Lukashenko government following the August elections, which protesters say were rigged to extend Lukashenko's 27-year rule, sparking mass protests that have been met with crackdowns.
Human rights groups say more than 34.000 people have been arrested. The government claims it is being unjustly defamed, while the president denies any electoral fraud and accuses the West of supporting the protests.