Key Events: March 15-21
BELARUS
Artivism before Freedom Day near the building of the National Art Museum in Minsk
Mar 15: Multinational firms under pressure to break ties with Belarus
International firms like the German giant engineering company Siemens and Norwegian agro-giant Yara are increasingly the targets of massive online criticism campaigns over their business in Belarus. Their social media has been swamped with appeals not to “support violence and torture in Belarus” and stop dealing with the dictator. Earlier, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) canceled the championship in Minsk after protests unnerved the event sponsors.
Mar 15: Lithuania’s State Defense Council calls to ensure boycott of Astravyets power ASAP
Lithuania’s State Defense Council ruled that Lithuania should cooperate with other Baltic countries as soon as possible to boycott Belarus’ Astravets nuclear power plant. Along with its Baltic neighbors (Latvia and Estonia), Lithuania has plans to synchronize their electric grids with those of continental Europe and prevent market access for electricity from unsafe power plants.
Mar 16: Belarus aiming for more control over digital economy, Crypto Exchanges: Report
Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko has plans to increase regulation for cryptocurrencies for its citizens. Hi-Tech Park, the government-backed incubator for IT start-ups, has been asked to supervise the nation’s crypto services.
Belsat news channel published an investigation into Anatoly Tsiarnauski (Anatoly Ternavsky), the so-called oil baron of Belarus and one of Lukashenko’s “wallets.” Ternavsky has many ties to the Lukashenko family and numerous offshore oil entities, including Unitrade, a Belarusian Oil Company registered in UK. Ternavsky had been sanctioned since 2012 by the European Union, but Unitrade had not been affected by EU restrictions despite annual revenues being up to half a million dollars.
Mar 16: ]In China’s shoes: Lukashenka set to get Belarusian IT sector under control](https://belsat.eu/en/news/16-03-2021-in-china-s-shoes-lukashenka-set-to-get-belarusian-it-sector-under-control/)
Lukashenka looks to further control the Belarusian IT sector with regulation through a comprehensive decree. He wants to set up and gain control with a governmental regulation body mirroring China’s digital society approach.
Mar 18: Belarus opposition leader renews battle against Lukashenka
Exiled Belarus pro-democracy leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called for renewed protests over the disputed presidential election as well as more international sanctions to put pressure on the regime. She also initiated the nationwide voting on negotiations with the regime. According to Tsikhanouskaya, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the United Nations were ready to mediate negotiations with the regime. Tsikhanouskaya hopes talks could begin in May.
Mar 18: Israeli phone-hacking firm Cellebrite halts sales to Russia, Belarus in wake of Haaretz Report
Cellebrite, the Israeli digital intelligence company specializing in hacking tools, will halt its sales to Russia and Belarus in the wake of documentation of their technology used to hack opposition forces and minorities. The Lukashenko administration was reported to purchase and use Cellebrite’s equipment since 2016, though the company denied it in the past. On Thursday, they announced they had halted sales to both Russia and Belarus, citing a revised company’s policy.
Mar 19: Lukashenka holds up sanctioned ex-ministers as possible successors in Belarus
In a televised appearance on March 18, Belarusian autocrat Alyaksandr Lukashenka suggested that two former Belarusian government ministers under Western sanctions would be “strong candidates” who could succeed him. Former Interior Minister Yury Karayev and former Health Minister Uladzimer Karanik are his would-be candidates. Lukashenka continues to loosely promise reforms in a seeming attempt to buy himself time to complete his sixth term. Karayev is under sanctions for orchestrating violent crackdowns on protests.
Mar 19: Belarus: Crackdown on human rights defenders deepens – expert
The UN is concerned with an increasing crackdown on human rights defenders in Belarus. Two recent cases include detentions of individuals who worked at the Office of the Rights for People with Disabilities and collaborated with the UN Human Rights Office. There are reports of persons criminalized in reprisal for their cooperation with the UN and ill-treated in police custody.
Mar 21: Opposition Social Democratic Party leader detained in Belarus
Igor Borisov, Leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Gramada), was detained in Belarus in front of his wife and their children. Gramada was among the opposition forces that applied for the permit to hold a mass event to mark the Belarus Freedom Day on March 25.
Mar 21: Sunday protests held in Belarus
This Sunday marks the 225th day of protests against fraudulent presidential elections of last year and is 4 days away from celebration of Freedom Day. People all over Belarus and around the world came out in support of democratic aspirations of the people of Belarus and participated in various solidarity actions.