Newsletter: Dec 14-21

BELARUS

Dec 14: Minsk: Pensioners’ March dispersed, dozens detained. The Minsk police have thwarted Monday’s March of Pensioners, also known as Wisdom March. Over the past months, pro-opposition elderly Minskers have made Monday’s event an unofficial tradition; as a rule, they move along central streets to Yakub Kolas Square. Students and health workers often join the march. About 80 pensioners were detained.

Dec 15: 87-year-old woman convicted in Minsk for flag on balcony. The judge of the Kastrychnitski district of Minsk, Alyaksandr Rudenka, found 87-year-old Lizaveta Bursava guilty under Article 23.34 of Administrative Code. According to the protocol, on December 13, the woman held a mass event in her apartment by placing the white-red-white flag on the balcony. She will have to pay 2/3 of her pension for the fine.

 

Dec 17: Law on Belarusian citizenship amended. Now a person can be deprived of citizenship even when he or she does not have citizenship of another state or guarantees of obtaining it. The changes do not apply to citizens of Belarus from birth, but only to those who have received it later. The changes will take effect in six months. On December 17, they were officially published on the National Legal Internet Portal of the Republic of Belarus.

Dec 18: Russian National Guard to Partner With Belarus Police Amid Protests. The Russian National Guard has signed a cooperation agreement with Belarus’ police force to combat “terrorism and extremism,” Interfax reported Friday. The agreement comes amid months of opposition protests in Belarus against the country’s disputed presidential election. Belarus’ Moscow-backed President Alexander Lukashenko has accused the opposition of being backed by the West and has jailed several opposition figures on charges of attempting to seize power.

Dec 19: Border crossing fee will be charged when leaving Belarus. The tax for crossing the border is proposed to be introduced when leaving the country, Finance Minister Yury Seliverstau told BelTA. According to the bill “On Amendments to the Tax Code,” adopted by the house, regional “councils of deputies” may be allowed to introduce a local tax for crossing the border by vehicles with a maximum weight of no more than 5 tons, in the amount of no more than three base units.

Dec 20: March of People’s Tribunal held in Belarus. This Sunday’s match is the 134th day of protests. For more than four months, Belarusians have been protesting against vote rigging and police violence which no one has been charged with yet. As protesters believe that a number of Belarusian officials and police officers should be tried for the crimes committed, they have called today’s rally the March of People’s Tribunal on social media channels. Around 100 people were arrested.

INTERNATIONAL

Dec 15: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya had an online meeting with Belgian PM Alexander De Croo. They discussed following OSCE Moscow Mechanism recommendations and sanctions against Lukashenka’s regime. Belgium promised to provide help for repressed and rehabilitation for injured protesters of Belarus.

 

Dec 15: US Deputy Secretary Biegun’s Conversation with Belarusian Opposition Leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Stephen E. Biegun participated in a virtual discussion hosted by the German Marshall Fund with Belarusian presidential candidate and leader of the opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. They discussed the ongoing political crisis in Belarus, and Deputy Secretary Biegun reaffirmed strong U.S. support for the Belarusian people’s resounding calls for their voice to be heard in determining their country’s fate.

Dec 16: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya receives Sakharov Prize. Belarusian opposition leader has said she is “humbled” after accepting the European Parliament’s top human rights prize. The Sakharov prize was awarded to 10 members of the country’s opposition for “their courage, resilience and determination” during recent unrest.

 

Dec 17: EU imposes third round of sanctions over ongoing repressions in Belarus. In response to the brutality of the Belarusian authorities and in support of the democratic rights of the Belarusian people, the EU Council decided to adopt 36 additional designations, now a total of 88 individuals and 7 entities. These sanctions target high-level officials responsible for the ongoing violent repression and intimidation of peaceful demonstrators, opposition members and journalists, among others. They also target economic actors, prominent businessmen and companies benefiting from and/or supporting the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Dec 18: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya had a conversation with Yara management. Yara is a Danish partner of Belaruskali Belarus state company. She thanked them for the firm position and standing up against repressions of workers. Yara expressed that the threshold of acceptance has been passed and Belarus leaders and Danish companies must unite in defense of labor & human rights.