Renewed pressure on Lukashenko

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 08 May 2021 by Alex Teddy
On May 6 the self-declared President of Belarus Svytlana Tsikhanouskaya called for an international conference on Belarus. She wants the EU to formulate a plan to assist civil society in Belarus. She also testified before the US Congress by videolink and requested tighter sanctions. On May 5 laywers in Germany filed a complaint of torture against Lukashenko and some of his top officers. Germany is now obliged to investigate the allegations.In Belarus oppositionists continue to be jailed in harsh conditions. Minsk says that it foiled a coup plot in April 2021. Opposition activists are regularly described as 'terrorists' by the government. The April 2021 meeting between Lukashenko and Putin was tipped to lead to some announcement on steps towards reunification. This was agreed in principle in 1999. Putin has been frustrated that his Belarussian analogue has dragged his feet on this. However, no concrete measures have been put in place since the meeting. Will Western sanctions force Lukashenko from office or lead to real change? In the short term the answer to both questions is no. A few months ago Lukashenko said he could think of some men - yes it was men - who could replace him. There is a serious chance that he might retire at the end of his term.

Now read on...

Register to sample a report

Register
Sign-in
Forgot your password?
Copyright 2024 GlobalSource Partners. All rights reserved. This is prepared for GlobalSource Partners’ clients and may not be redistributed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, retransmitted or disclosed, in whole or in part, or in any form or manner, without the express written consent of GlobalSource Partners. This is distributed simultaneously to our website and other portals used by GlobalSource Partners. The information herein was obtained from various sources and is believed to be reliable but GlobalSource Partners does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Neither GlobalSource Partners nor any Country Analyst, officer or employee accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential damages or losses rising from any use of this or its contents.