DOCSLIB.ORG

President Alexander Lukashenko Office of President of the Republic of Belarus Email: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 226 06 10

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
President Alexander Lukashenko Office of President of the Republic of Belarus Email: Contact@President.Gov.By Fax: +375 17 226 06 10 President Alexander Lukashenko Office of President of the Republic of Belarus Email: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 226 06 10 Alexander Vladimirovich Koniuk Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 226 42 52 Alexander Bileychik First Deputy Minister Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 200 96 84, +375 17 200 97 50 24 November 2011 Call for immediate release and rehabilitation of Ales Bialiatski We, the undersigned 64 human rights organizations, members and partners of the Human Rights House Network, resolutely condemn the court verdict to sentence Ales Bialiatski to 4,5 years imprisonment with confiscation of his property. We call upon the Belarusian authorities to immediately drop all charges against Ales Bialiatski and stop his criminal prosecution. On Thursday, 24 November 2011, the Minsk Pershamaiski District Court announced its verdict to sentence Ales Bialiatski to 4,5 years imprisonment with the confiscation of all his property, including property registered to other persons, on charges of tax evasion. Ales Bialiatski is the Chairperson of the Human Rights Centre “Viansa”, Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and one of the founders of the Belarusian Human Rights House in Vilnius. He is a well-known and internationally recognised human rights defender. On 4 August 2011, Ales Bialiatski was detained in Minsk on alleged suspicion of ‘concealment of income on an especially large scale’. His trial started on 2 November and was widely condemned by the international community. The case of Ales Bialiatski has received high-level attention and concerns in the international community. On 24 November 2011, Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice- President of the Commission, and Stefan Füle, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, deplored the harsh sentencing of Ales Bialiatski and considers it to be politically motivated. “It targets Ales Byalyatski and the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” for their Courageous support to victims of repression in Belarus. As suCh, it is a symbol of the ever intensifying CraCkdown on Civil soCiety in the Country sinCe the 19 December 2010 Presidential elections.” In a joint statement on 24 November 2011, three United Nations special rapporteurs warned that the new legislative amendments recently adopted by the National Assembly of Belarus may severely and arbitrarily restrict the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression, and breach international law. We believe that Ales Bialiatski is punished for his legitimate engagement in promoting and protecting human rights in Belarus. Proceedings against Ales Bialiatski constitute one more action by the Belarusian government against human rights defenders to try to silence voices that uphold Belarus’ human rights obligations. We consider Ales Bialiatski’s detention as arbitrary, call for his immediate and unconditional release, and for all charges held against him to be dropped. Belarusian Human Rights House in exile in Vilnius, Lithuania Human Rights House Baku (on behalf of the following NGOs): - Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) - Legal Education Society - Society for Humanitarian Research Human Rights House Oslo (on behalf of the following NGOs): - FoodFirst Information and Action Network (FIAN) - Health and Human Rights Info - Human Rights House Foundation - Norwegian Burma Committee - Norwegian Helsinki Committee - Voice of Tibet The Rafto Foundation (Norway) Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland) (on behalf of the following NGOs): - Grupa Horyzont - Komitet Helsiński - Stowarzyszenie Młodych Dziennikarzy "Polis" - Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka Human Rights House Sarajevo (on behalf of the following NGOs): - Association of Female Citizens "Renaissance" - Foundation CURE - Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Regional Co-ordinator for Youth Groups - Serb Civic Council - Movement for Equality - The Council of the Sarajevo Canton - Woman and Society Centre Human Rights House Tbilisi (on behalf of the following NGOs): - The Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT) - The Human Rights Centre (HRIDC) Russian Research Center for Human Rights (on behalf of the following NGOs): - Human Rights Network Group - Independent Psychiatric Association of Russia - Moscow Centre for Prison Reform - Moscow Helsinki Group - Mother's Right Foundation - Non-violence International - Right of the Child - Right to Live and have Civil Dignity - Social Partnership Foundation - Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia Human Rights House Zagreb (on behalf of the following NGOs): - APEO/UPIM – Association for Promotion of Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities - B.a.B.e. - CMS - Centre for Peace Studies - Documenta - Centre for Dealing with the Past - GOLJP - Civic Committee for Human Rights - Svitanje - Association for Protection and Promotion of Mental Health Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union NGO M’ART (Ukraine) Центр правовых и политических исследований "СІМ" (Ukraine) Vinnytsya Human Rights Group (Ukraine) Children's ecological public organization "Flora" (Ukraine) Public organization "Territory of success" (Ukraine) Crimean Human Rights Center "Action" (Ukraine) Information Center for Human Rights (Kyiv, Ukraine) Human Rights Centre "Postup", Lugansk, Ukraine The Krivoy Rog city Human Rights Society (Ukraine) All-Ukrainian Youth NGO "Foundation of Regional Initiatives" Foundation for Legal Technologies Development (Ukraine) Kherson regional charity and health Foundation (Ukraine) Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy, Ukraine Article 19 (United Kingdom) CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation (South Africa) Civil Rights Defenders (Sweden) Danish Institute for Human Rights (Denmark) Index on Censorship (United Kingdom) International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) (Belgium) Legal Transformation Center (Belarus) Östgruppen – the Swedish Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (Sweden) People in Need (Czech Republic) Copies have been sent to: • The Mission of the Republic of Belarus to the UN Office at Geneva • The Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg • The Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg • The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Geneva • The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Assembly and of Association, Geneva • The UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Geneva • The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE ODIHR), Warsaw • The Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Belarus • The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Brussels • The Council of the European Union, Brussels • The Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament, Brussels • Diplomatic missions About the Human Rights House Network (www.humanrightshouse.org) The Human Rights House Network is a forum of cooperation between established and emerging Human Rights Houses, uniting 70 NGOs in 15 countries in Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and South Caucasus, East and Horn of Africa, and Western Europe. HRHN´s aim is to protect, strengthen and support human rights defenders and their organizations. The Human Rights House Foundation, based in Oslo (Norway) and Geneva (Switzerland), is the secretariat of the Human Rights House Network. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Belarus in Upheaval: Three Scenarios
    Policy Perspectives Vol. 9/2, February 2021 Belarus in Upheaval: Three Scenarios As Alexander Lukashenko has become a toxic figure at home and abroad, three scenarios for the regime’s future are perceptible. Each has important foreign policy implications, and Russia is key in all of them. By Benno Zogg riggered by outrageous election fraud and wanton vio- mains volatile and forecasting is difficult, observers and Tlence by government forces, Belarus has seen months of policymakers will need to consider all options. protests and civic activism against the regime. Alexander Lukashenko has lost legitimacy among a majority of Belar- Between Partner and Pariah usians, and his rhetoric has gotten increasingly martial and Due to its geographic location between Russia, Ukraine, erratic. The West is appalled by the blatant violation of lib- Poland, and the Baltics, Belarus is of strategic importance eral values in a country located at a critical geopolitical fault in defense planning and as an energy transit route for the line with Russia. As such, the past months have reversed West and Russia alike. Since Lukashenko was elected years of Belarusian rapprochement with the West following president in 1994, Russia has been Belarus’ closest ally. For the 2014 annexation of Crimea. Most Western states have Russia, keeping Belarus in its sphere of influence is an enacted sanctions against members and supporters of the regime. This appears to leave Lukashenko with only one influen- tial partner: Russia. However, the Krem- lin’s support cannot be taken for granted Key Points and comes with many conditions. Three scenarios are perceptible Despite widespread protests, Lukashenko violently holds on to within the next five years and imply dif- power – with Russian support.
    [Show full text]
  • President Alexander Lukashenko Office of the President of the Republic of Belarus E-Mail: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 226 06 10
    President Alexander Lukashenko Office of the President of the Republic of Belarus E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 226 06 10 Alexander Vladimirovich Koniuk Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 226 42 52 24 January 2012 Call for immediate release and rehabilitation of Ales Bialiastki The condemnation of Ales Bialiatski illustrates how seriously threatened freedom of association and freedom of expression are in Belarus. We call upon Belarusian authorities to immediately release and drop all charges against human rights defender Ales Bialiatski; to fully rehabilitate him and to ensure unhampered activities of human rights and other civil society organizations. On January 24, the cassation appeal against the verdict of the Pershamaiski District Court of Minsk, of Ales Bialiatski, Head of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” in Belarus, Vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and one of the founders of the Belarusian Human Rights House in exile, left the sentence against Ales Bialiatski in force: 4.5 years imprisonment in a higher security colony and confiscation of properties. The latter disregards the fact that all the taxes and penalties imposed on Ales Bialiatski have been fully paid by the time of the appeal hearing. On 4 August 2011, Ales Bialiastki was arrested in Minsk. We see Ales Bialiatski’s detention since August 2011 as a direct result of his legitimate activities in defence of human rights in Belarus. On 24 November 2011, Ales Bialiatski was sentenced to 4.5 years imprisonment with the confiscation of his property, including the property registered with other persons, on charges of tax evasion.
    [Show full text]
  • Illegal Migration As a Political Weapon
    August 5, 2021 Foundation Office Belarus/Lithuania Illegal migration as a political weapon About the situation on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border Jakob Wöllenstein, Elisabeth Bauer, Fausta Šimaitytė Belarus will even double and take place from a total The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko has of four Iraqi cities. repeatedly threatened the EU to allow refugees Border security is currently given priority. Barbed from war zones to enter the EU in response to the wire is to be built along the entire border. The sanctions imposed on his country. The main establishment of a permanent border location is also target is Lithuania, which has an almost 680 under discussion. The technical means for border kilometer long and mostly unprotected border surveillance alone would cost 400 million euros. The with Belarus. The increase in illegal migrant EU has so far pledged 12 million euros. So far, the flows from Iraq and African countries is actively Lithuanian government has budgeted 100 million promoted by the Belarusian regime. According to euros for overcoming the crisis. Ylva Johansson, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, this is not just a migration crisis, but an (Re) actions by Lithuania and the EU act of aggression aimed at destabilization. On July 2nd the Lithuanian government declared a Data on illegal migration to Lithuania from third state of emergency2 due to the migration crisis and countries via Belarus called the European border protection agency FRONTEX for support on July 9th. FRONTEX The number of illegal migrants who have entered announced on July 12th a Rapid Border Intervention Lithuania via Belarus since the beginning of 2021 is Mission to the Lithuanian-Belarusian border.
    [Show full text]
  • ONLY by EMAIL President Alexander Lukashenko
    ONLY BY EMAIL President Alexander Lukashenko, BELARUS Email: [email protected] Amsterdam, 22 March 2017 Subject: Sentencing of lawyer Oleg Volchek Your Excellency, Lawyers for Lawyers is an independent, non-profit and non-political foundation that seeks to promote the proper functioning of the rule of law by pursuing freedom and independence of the legal profession. Lawyers for Lawyers is concerned about the sentencing of lawyer Oleg Volchek. Oleg Volchek is a prominent human rights lawyer and director of the non-governmental organisation Pravovaya Pomoshch Naseleniyu (Legal Aid to Population). He defends political rights and fights against the use of torture and bad conditions in Belarusian detention facilities. According to our information, Mr. Volchek was charged with ‘taking part in an illegal mass event’, under art. 23.34 part 1 of the Administrative code, after taking part in the demonstration that took place in Minsk on 17 February 2017. One more demonstration took place on 15 March 2017. Through these peaceful protests participants called on the authorities to withdraw Presidential Decree No 3 on the ‘Prevention of Social Dependence’. The law targets and imposes a tax of around USD 250 on Belarusians who have worked less than half of the year and who have not registered at the country’s labour offices. Mr. Volchek learnt about being charged by chance, when he was inquiring about the hearing of his client Mr. Alexander Lapitski who was last year sentenced to undergo psychiatric treatment. The Frunze district of the city of Minsk judge was the same judge who sentenced the above mentioned client and the judge who incidentally informed Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Culture and Change in Belarus
    East European Reflection Group (EE RG) Identifying Cultural Actors of Change in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova Culture and Change in Belarus Report prepared by Yael Ohana, Rapporteur Generale Bratislava, August 2007 Culture and Change in Belarus “Life begins for the counter-culture in Belarus after regime change”. Anonymous, at the consultation meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, June 14 2007. Introduction1 Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine have recently become direct neighbours of the European Union. Both Moldova and Ukraine have also become closer partners of the European Union through the European Neighbourhood Policy. Neighbourhood usually refers to people next-door, people we know, or could easily get to know. It implies interest, curiosity and solidarity in the other living close by. For the moment, the European Union’s “neighbourhood” is something of an abstract notion, lacking in substance. In order to avoid ending up “lost in translation”, it is necessary to question and some of the basic premises on which cultural and other forms of European cooperation are posited. In an effort to create constructive dialogue with this little known neighbourhood, the European Cultural Foundation (ECF) and the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) are currently preparing a three- year partnership to support cultural agents of change in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. In the broad sense, this programme is to work with, and provide assistance to, initiatives and institutions that employ creative, artistic and cultural means to contribute to the process of constructive change in each of the three countries. ECF and GMF have begun a process of reflection in order to understand the extent to which the culture sphere in each of the three countries under consideration can support change, defined here as processes and dynamics contributing to democratisation, Europeanisation and modernisation in the three countries concerned.
    [Show full text]
  • 1120 Not-So-Good Neighbors
    Commission on Security & Cooperation in Europe: U.S. Helsinki Commission “Not-So-Good Neighbors: Russian Influence in Belarus” Committee Members Present: Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Chairman; Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC), Ranking Member; Witnesses: Sofya Orlosky, Senior Program Manager for Eurasia, Freedom House; Franak Viačorka, Research Media Analyst, US Agency for Global Media; Brian Whitmore, Senior Fellow and Director of the Russia Program, CEPA; Andrei Yeliseyeu, Head of Monitoring Unit, International Strategic Action Network for Security (iSANS); Research Director, EAST Center The Hearing Was Held From 9:58 a.m. To 11:28 a.m. in Room 2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., Representative Alcee Hastings (D- FL), Chairman, Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe, presiding Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2019 Transcript By Superior Transcriptions LLC www.superiortranscriptions.com HASTINGS: Good morning, everybody. It’s 10:00, and I have a bad habit of trying to start on time and end on time. You are welcome here to the U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing entitled “Not-So-Good Neighbors: Russian Influence in Belarus.” And with that, we’ll come to order and have opening statements and then turn to you all. This is a timely hearing coming off of the Belarusian election, in addition to the fact that I know all of you know that there is an ongoing proceeding that Russia is implicated in here on the Hill that is much more popular for the moment. We all know that the Kremlin’s disinformation and political interference reaches the shores of the United States and elsewhere in the region of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
    [Show full text]
  • Belarusian State Ideology: a Strategy of Flexible Adaptation
    Belarusian State Ideology: A Strategy of Flexible Adaptation Katsiaryna Yakouchyk∗ Jean Monnet Chair for European Politics, University of Passau, Germany Abstract While in some Eastern European countries a wave of colored revolutions challenged existing political orders, Belarus has remained largely untouched by mass protests. In Minsk, the diffusion of democratic ideas leading to the mobilization of population meets a stable authoritarian regime. Nevertheless, the stagnating democratization process cannot be only attributed to the strong authoritarian rule and abuse of power. Indeed, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko still enjoys popularity by a large part of the population. Although international observers report that elections in Belarus have never been free and fair, few commentators doubt that Lukashenko would not have won in democratic elections. This evidence suggests that the regime succeeded in building a strong legitimizing basis, which has not been seriously challenged during the last two decades. This paper explores the authoritarian stability in Belarus by looking at the patterns of state ideology. The government effectively spreads state ideology since the early 2000s. Ideology de- partments have been created in almost all state institutions. The education sector has been affected by the introduction of the compulsory course “The Fundamentals of Belarusian State Ideology” at all universities, and increasing attention to the patriotic education at schools. Based on document analysis, I trace the creation of “ideological vertical” in Belarus and focuse on the issue of ideology in education and youth policy sectors. 1 Introduction Authoritarian stability has attracted growing scholarly attention in the recent years, not less because of evident failures of Western democracy promotion initiatives (e.g., Grimm, 2015).
    [Show full text]
  • Mr. Alexander Lukashenko President of the Republic of Belarus
    Mr. Alexander Lukashenko President of the Republic of Belarus Office of the President of the Republic of Belarus E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 226 06 10 Mr. Alexander Koniuk Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +375 17 226 42 52 23 April 2012 Urgent appeal for immediate release and full rehabilitation of all political prisoners and for discontinuing the practice of arbitrary detention Dear Sirs, Arbitrary detention is used in Belarus against political opponents and persons exercising their freedoms of conscience, opinion and expression. The use of arbitrary detention as a tool of systematic repression of critical voices constitutes a serious violation of human rights as the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention underlines1. We urge the authorities of the Republic of Belarus to release all political prisoners and to compensate them for the harm suffered. The recent liberation of Andrei Sannikov, presidential candidate at the December 2010 elections, and Dmitry Bondarenko, his deputy and one of the coordinators of the civil campaign “European Belarus”, has to be followed without delay by the release and full rehabilitation of all the remaining political prisoners in the country, including Ales Bialiatski, Head of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” in Belarus, Vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and one of the founders of the Belarusian Human Rights House in exile.2 The detention of Ales Bialiatski since August 2011 illustrates a consistent pattern of restrictions to the rights to freedom of association and expression imposed in Belarus.
    [Show full text]
  • Want to Read More?
    The Belarusian CRISIS And the Influence of Russia By Pavlo Troian, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine PHOTOS BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS he large-scale protests after the August 2020 presidential election in Belarus are proof that many Belarusians are T not ready to accept the victory of incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko that was announced by the Central Election Commission. According to the official results, he won more than 80% of the votes. The situation was further aggra- vated by the unprecedented level of police violence against protesters who took to the streets to express their disagreement with the official election results. The Belarusian authorities relied on Russian support and accused the West of organizing protests with the aim of overthrowing the government. However, Lukashenko made similar accusations against Russia before the election protests. Why did the situation turn upside down? Let us consider the reasons. Lukashenko has ruled the country for 26 years and is the longest-reigning leader of a European country (not counting monarchs). He was first elected in 1994, and reelected in 2001, 2006, 2010 and 2015. In 2004, he initiated a referendum that removed from the constitution a limit to the maximum number of terms the same person can hold the presidency. During his tenure, Lukashenko has repeatedly been accused of restricting civil rights and freedoms and usurping power. There were accusa- tions of organizing political assassinations — several opponents of A woman in a former Belarusian national flag reacts as opposition supporters gather during a rally to protest the official presidential election results. per Concordiam 55 Lukashenko disappeared without a trace in the late 1990s and army, parliament, council of ministers and other suprana- early 2000s.
    [Show full text]
  • Extending Russia Competing from Advantageous Ground
    Extending Russia Competing from Advantageous Ground James Dobbins, Raphael S. Cohen, Nathan Chandler, Bryan Frederick, Edward Geist, Paul DeLuca, Forrest E. Morgan, Howard J. Shatz, Brent Williams C O R P O R A T I O N For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR3063 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-1-9774-0021-5 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2019 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Cover: Pete Soriano/Adobe Stock Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface This report documents research and analysis conducted as part of the RAND Corporation research project Extending Russia: Competing from Advantageous Ground, sponsored by the Army Quadrennial Defense Review Office, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G-8, Headquarters, Department of the Army.
    [Show full text]
  • Countering NATO Expansion a Case Study of Belarus-Russia Rapprochement
    NATO RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP 2001-2003 Final Report Countering NATO Expansion A Case Study of Belarus-Russia Rapprochement PETER SZYSZLO June 2003 NATO RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP INTRODUCTION With the opening of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Alliance’s eastern boundary now comprises a new line of contiguity with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as well as another geopolitical entity within—the Union of Belarus and Russia. Whereas the former states find greater security and regional stability in their new political-military arrangement, NATO’s eastward expansion has led Belarus and Russia to reassess strategic imperatives in their western peripheries, partially stemming from their mutual distrust of the Alliance as a former Cold War adversary. Consequently, security for one is perceived as a threat to the other. The decision to enlarge NATO eastward triggered a political-military “response” from the two former Soviet states with defence and security cooperation leading the way. While Belarus’s military strategy and doctrine remain defensive, there is a tendency of perceiving NATO as a potential enemy, and to view the republic’s defensive role as that of protecting the western approaches of the Belarus-Russia Union. Moreover, the Belarusian presidency has not concealed its desire to turn the military alliance with Russia into a powerful and effective deterrent to NATO. While there may not be a threat of a new Cold War on the horizon, there is also little evidence of a consolidated peace. This case study endeavours to conduct a comprehensive assessment on both Belarusian rhetoric and anticipated effects of NATO expansion by examining governmental discourse and official proposals associated with political and military “countermeasures” by analysing the manifestations of Belarus’s rapprochement with the Russian Federation in the spheres of foreign policy and military doctrine.
    [Show full text]
  • THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION the CURRENT: What's Driving Mass
    THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION THE CURRENT: What’s driving mass protests in Belarus? Tuesday, September 8, 2020 Host: Adrianna Pita, Office of Communications, Brookings Guest: Steven Pifer, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Brookings; William J. Perry Fellow, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University (MUSIC) PITA: Alexander Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since 1994, shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But although the most recent elections in early August returned Lukashenko to power once again, the people of Belarus have come out in mass protests, with tens of thousands disputing the legitimacy of the elections. Now a month later, protests are still continuing, even as opposition leaders have been forced to leave the country. With us to discuss what’s happening in Belarus is Steven Pifer, a nonresident senior fellow here at Brookings and also a William J. Perry fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. Steve, thanks for talking to us today. PIFER: Happy to be here. PITA: Lukashenko has ruled for decades. He was commonly referred to as “Europe’s last dictator.” And much of the media and the economy in Belarus I understand are still state-run. So, what was it about this moment in Belarus that’s lead to these mass demonstrations? PIFER: This was actually interesting, and I think what probably surprised a lot of people, myself included, is that for a long time, the people of Belarus have been prepared to put up with Mr. Lukashenko. And it goes back to the beginning – Belarus was probably the new independent state that emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union that least knew what it wanted to do with its independence, and wanted the closest relationship with Russia.
    [Show full text]