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Micheál Martin has described the forcing down of a Ryanair plane in Belarus and the arrest of journalist, as “a state-sponsored coercive act”.
“It’s piracy in the skies and it’s just not acceptable,” said the Taoiseach.
Mr Martin said European leaders would discuss the issue tonight and would consider sanctions “and other measures” against the regime of authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko.
“There has to be measures that respond to an event of this kind,” he said.
Earlier, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney described the forcing of the plane to land on Sunday as “state-sponsored aviation piracy.”
The European Union must give “a very clear response” to the incident, he told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.
The Ryanair flight was an intra-EU route from Athens to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, when it was diverted to Minsk
Mr Coveney said European leaders will have an opportunity to make clear decisions at a Council meeting on Monday. The regime in Belarus had no democratic legitimacy and it was “behaving as a dictatorship,” he added.
Belarus has been accused of hijacking after it forced the Ryanair flight to perform an emergency landing in Minsk and arrested Roman Protasevich (26), an opposition blogger critical of Mr Lukashenko.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said the forced landing of one of the airline’s planes was “state-sponsored hijacking” and “state-sponsored piracy” on the part of Belarus.
He also said “we believe there was also some KGB agents off-loaded from the aircraft as well.”
“Unfortunately I can’t say much about it because the EU authorities and Nato are dealing with it at the moment,” he told Newstalk.
“We’re debriefing the crews, our crews did a phenomenal job to get that aircraft and almost all the passengers out of Minsk after six hours.
Debrief
“We have to do a detailed debrief today with the Nato and EU authorities. I think it’s very frightening for the crew, for the passengers who were held under armed guard, had their bags searched.”
Protasevich, a former editor of the influential Telegram channels Nexta and Nexta Live, was detained by police after the flight was diverted to Minsk national airport.
Minsk confirmed that Mr Lukashenko ordered his military to scramble a Mig-29 fighter to escort the plane until it landed.
A Belarusian university in Vilnius said its student Sofia Sapega (23), who was travelling with Protasevich, had also been detained.
Leaders from the US, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic have condemned the action and called for a suspension of all overflights over Belarus.
“This act of state terror and kidnapping is a threat to all those who travel in Europe and beyond. It cannot be allowed to stand,” they said in a joint statement.
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said EU leaders would decide on the repercussions for Belarus at Monday’s meeting.
Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, said “the outrageous and illegal behaviour... will have consequences”.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken called the incident “shocking” and accused the Belarusian government of endangering the lives of those aboard the aircraft, including some Americans.
Forcing the emergency landing of a European jetliner would be an extraordinary act even for Mr Lukashenko’s government, which has launched a broad crackdown on opposition leaders and independent media.
Opponents of the regime have been arrested, including some who have fled abroad to avoid reprisals, including a former spokesman for Mr Lukashenko who vanished last month during a trip to Moscow and then reappeared in custody in Minsk.
Riots
Protasevich has been accused by Belarus of terrorism and provoking riots after the Nexta channels became one of the main conduits for organising last year’s anti-Lukashenko protests over elections fraud.
Protasevich had been living in exile and Poland had previously rejected an extradition request sent by Minsk.
According to online flight data, the plane was over Belarusian airspace when it diverted course but was closer to Vilnius than Minsk.
“I’m facing the death penalty here,” a trembling Protasevich reportedly told a fellow passenger from the plane before he was led away by Belarusian police.
The mass unrest charges against him carry a sentence of up to 15 years. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Protasevich had been covering a visit to Athens by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a former presidential candidate who has declared herself the country’s leader-in-exile due to widespread fraud during last year’s elections. She called on the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to investigate Belarus. - Additional reporting Guardian