Key Events: Feb 22-28
BELARUS
Victim of politically motivated case is facing up to death penalty in charges
Feb 22: Man is facing possible death sentence for driving away from security forces.
Alexander Trocki, former deputy chairman of the board of JSC MTBank and director of Aliko-Trade company is accused of attempted murder of an employee of the internal affairs bodies. On Aug 12, Trocki’s car was stopped by unidentified security forces in balaclavas, who threatened him with a gun and began hitting his car. As he attempted to drive away, one of the officers jumped on the hood of his car, suffering from several bruises and abrasions which did not entail any short-term health disorder. Upon stopping, Alexander was repeatedly beaten with truncheons, a pistol and a gas canister and was later diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and deafness. Trocki is facing a term of ten to twenty-five years, or life imprisonment, or the death penalty.
In a briefing for the military attaches, head of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) International Military Cooperation Department Aleh Voinau called the international reaction to the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus “politicised” and said that it made the MoD “reassess the military and political situation. He also noted that “if the Western countries continue to escalate tensions, Belarus reserves the right to take a number of additional steps to beef up national security in 2021”. The participants in the briefing were also informed about the Belarusian-Russian Zapad-2021 drills and other joint drills in Russia and Tajikistan.
Feb 24: Belarus attempts to reverse inflation by freezing prices on socially important goods and medicines.
In January, inflation in Belarus reached 7.7% annualized. To prevent the country’s economy from spiraling into hyperinflation, the government announced a ban on rising prices on 62 types of produce, such as bread, pork, and beef, and on 50 medicines. After March 1, a total ban on price rises will be replaced with a cap of 0.2% rise per month.
Feb 25: Protester jailed in Belarus for 10 years as U.N. warns of “Human Rights Crisis”.
Belarusian court sentenced Aliaksandr Kardziukou to 10 years in prison on charges of attempted murder and attacking security forces. According to local media, two plain-clothes security officers pulled a gun on Kardziukou and, as he and another protester Henadz Shutau tried to escape, shot and killed Shutau. Shutau’s murder was never investigated. Instead, he and Kardziukou were declared guilty.
Feb 25: U.N. Human Rights Council report finds massive violations against anti-government protesters.
The report documents numerous and widespread human rights violations, including denial of fundamental freedoms, arbitrary arrests, torture, harassment, and intimidation of opposition members, journalists, and human rights activists. In comments to the Geneva forum, The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet said that since the completion of the UNHRC report for the period from May 1 to December 20, “the human rights situation in Belarus has further deteriorated,” and “the government’s systematic crackdown against protestors continues.” Bachelet recognized that as of February 9, 246 people have been sentenced to prison terms on politically motivated charges.
Feb 25: Insider view: Belarusian Ministry of Information calls for legislative regulation of individual media outlets.
Belarusian authorities are preparing to strangle the free flow of information and increase state propaganda. In a public ministry board meeting, Belarusian Minister of Information Igor Lutskiy declared information sovereignty as the Ministry’s top priority. He accused “some mass media” of becoming accomplices of “organizers of unauthorized speech,” and called for legislative regulation of their work. He also called for subordinating local media to regional authorities. Read the full statement at the state run BT news outlet here.
Feb 26: Belarus: Anger “hasn’t gone away” - Tsikhanouskaya.
In an interview with DW, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said that the struggle against the regime continues. While mass rallies are on hold, people find new ways to express their opposition to Lukashenka: putting up national symbols, singing, writing letters to political prisoners, going to courts to support the accused.
Feb 26: Lukashenka’s son replaces father at helm of Belarusian Olympic Committee.
In December, the International Olympic Committee excluded the Belarusian Olympic Committee members from all IOC events until further notice. Alyaksandr Lukashenka has now stepped down as the BOC chair and appointed his son Viktar to take his place.
INTERNATIONAL
Feb 21: Bloomber: U.K. calls for UN action in China, Myanmar, Russia and Belarus.
In a speech to the UN Human Rights Council, U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called for action against “systemic” human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang province, arbitrary detentions and “draconian” restrictions on freedom of expression in Myanmar, “disgraceful” treatment of opposition leader Alexey Navalny in Russia, and the “human rights crisis” in Belarus after Lukashenka’s “brutal crackdown” against protesters.
Feb 22: Lukashenka meets Putin in Sochi, secures another $1.5 billion loan.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka spent six hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi. The official reason for the visit was the roadmaps for integration. According to the reports following the meeting, Putin offered a $1.5 billion loan to be used to restructure Belarusian debt to Russia. During the part of the meeting that was open to the press, Lukashenka praised the Russian coronavirus vaccine and said that Sputnik V’s production will begin in Belarus in March. The question of opening a Russian military airbase in Babruysk came up only by proxy in the discussion of Russian military facilities in Baranavichy and Viliejka. Putin publicly pressed Lukashenka on the constitutional reform – a diplomatic code word for a regime change that would open Belarusian politics to the influence of pro-Russian political parties.
Feb 22: Saudi Arabia’s GAMI and Belarus’ SAMI sign MoU for military industries.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries and Belarus’ State Authority for Military Industry signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the research and development of military technologies.
Feb 24: Ukraine plans to disconnect from the Belarus-Russian power grid by the end of 2023.
At the talks with the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielus Landsbergis, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine plans to disconnect from the shared electricity grid with Belarus and Russia by the end of 2023 and integrate Ukrainian power grid into the European network. In turn, Landsbergis expressed concerns over the fact that access to Ukrainian electricity helps Belarus develop the unsafe nuclear power plant in Astravets, located just 45 km from the Lithuanian capital.
Feb 28: MTBank has entered into the preliminary agreement to buy the Idea Bank.
MTBank has entered into a preliminary agreement to acquire the Polish holding owned Idea Bank. MTB is 99% owned by Aliaksej Aleksin, the top 4 ranked businessman in Belarus, who recently had to sign the ownership stake of his assets over to his immediate family members in an attempt to circumvent sanctions.
Feb 28: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya hopes for Lukashenka’s exit this spring.
In the interview to the German Weekly, “Bild am Sonntag”, Tsikhanouskaya expects Lukashenka’s regime to crumble this spring as the result of the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. Paval Latushka, a member of the presidium of the Belarus Coordination Council, calls on the EU to halt all the economic relations with Belarus. This action is supposed to block the attempts by Lukashenka to borrow money on the international financial markets.
ADDITIONAL READING
Financial Times: How Belarus’s protesters staged a digital revolution. https://www.ft.com/content/a68a1c28-fdd0-4800-9339-6ca1e81d456a
Time: How a Belarusian teacher and stay-at-home mom came to lead a national revolt. https://time.com/5941818/svetlana-tikhanovskaya-belarus-opposition-leader/