Key Events: Feb 8-14

BELARUS

 

Feb 9: TV journalists face three years in prison for reporting on Belarus protests.

Two Belarusian journalists working for a Polish-based Belarusian channel Belsat are in court today. Belarusian authorities accused Kaciaryna Andreeva and Daria Chultsova of organizing “actions that grossly violate public order”. Kaciaryna and Daria deny the charges. The journalists are facing three years in prison.

Feb 10: Is Russia slowly annexing Belarus in plain sight?

Recent reports that Russia and Belarus are planning to hold a record number of joint military exercises this year are more than just the latest sign that Alyaksandr Lukashenka is retreating deeply into the Kremlin’s embrace. They also suggest that Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin regime is moving closer to achieving its longstanding goal of establishing a permanent military base on Belarusian soil. The majority of this year’s military drills will take place in the runup to Zapad-2021, the massive quadrennial joint Russian-Belarusian exercises that are scheduled for September.

Feb 11: Lukashenka opens Soviet-style “People’s Assembly”.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka has opened a Soviet-style “All-Belarusian People’s Assembly” to discuss reforms and the country’s development for the next five years, including possible amendments to the constitution, in an apparent move to survive ongoing mass protests against his rule, which the authoritarian ruler has blamed on the West.

Feb 11: Lukashenka asks Putin for another $3 billion.

President of Belarus Lukashenka is counting on a new $3 billion loan from Russia in addition to the $1.5 billion allocated by Moscow in August. At the end of February, Lukashenka intends to fly to Sochi for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the agreement on a new Russian loan will be finalized. Lukashenko asked the Kremlin for permission to spend the funds left over from the previous loan for the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. In return, Russia expects Lukashenka to carry out the constitutional reform he promised in early autumn, and also insists on expanding integration.

Feb 11: Belarus leader vows to defeat foreign-backed “rebellion”.

The authoritarian leader of Belarus on Thursday slammed six months of demonstrations against him as a foreign-directed “rebellion,” and he announced plans for constitutional reforms, which the opposition has rejected as window dressing. Speaking to 2,700 participants of the All-Belarus People’s Assembly in the capital of Minsk, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka alleged that “very powerful forces” abroad were behind the protests. In an address to his loyalists, he also said that his country had fought off a foreign “blitzkrieg” and criticized private businesses and threatened them with sanctions for supporting the protest.

Feb 12: Harsher charges revealed against jailed Belarusian opposition figures Kalesnikava, Znak.

Belarusian authorities have brought new charges against two prominent opponents of President Lukashenka who were jailed during mass protests, accusing them of extremism and trying to seize power. The charges against Marya Kalesnikava and Maksim Znak could see them jailed for 12 years. Kalesnikava was one of three women who joined forces in an election against Lukashenka last year that prompted a crackdown against months of unrest. The charges coincided with Lukashenka staging a two-day “People’s Assembly” which he says is intended to promote political reform but which the opposition has dismissed as a sham to help the veteran leader cling to power.

Feb 13: BYPOL reports on purges in Belarusian KGB. BYPOL, an initiative of the Belarusian security forces, has reported on the start of purges among the employees of the State Security Committee of Belarus. BYPOL notes that purges have begun among employees who, in the summer, during the collection of signatures for the nomination of presidential candidates, put their signatures not for Alyaksandr Lukashenka but another candidate.

INTERNATIONAL

Feb 8: More sanctions mooted as EU Group outlines policy options for Lukashenka regime.

A target group of the EU states is weighing options to outline the EU block policy towards Belarus, including expanding the scope of sanctions against authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka for hijacking an election last year and then violently cracking down on protesters demanding that he step down. The paper, titled “EU Heads Of Mission Report: February 2021 Review Of The EU Restrictive Measures Against Belarus,” is set to be discussed in Brussels in the coming weeks. Suggested approaches will range from “Wait and See” option to a “Near Total Freeze of Relations”.

Feb 12: MEPs call for suspension of commercial launch of nuclear plant in Belarus.

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have voiced “serious concerns’’ over the safety of the Ostrovets nuclear plant, with Parliament criticising the “hasty commissioning” of the facility and “continued lack of transparency and official communication” regarding the frequent emergency shutdowns of the reactor and equipment failure. The first unit of the power plant – which is being developed by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, located 50km from Vilnius, Lithuania and in close proximity to other EU countries such as Poland, Latvia and Estonia – supplied electricity for the first time to the grid in Belarus in November 2020. Earlier, The European Commission was exploring measures aimed at preventing power imports from Belarus through Russia.