Solidarity with those fighting for freedom and democracy in Belarus
Join us in solidarity with those fighting for freedom, democracy, and dignity. On August 9, the Belarusian American community marked the fourth anniversary of the 2020 peaceful mass protests in support of democracy and freedom and against the fraudulent presidential election in Belarus. For the Belarusian Americans, this day is the day of dignity and sorrow. We are proud that in 2020, Belarusians stood up against the dictator, who had been usurping power for 26 years. But so far, we have not won the battle against the dictatorship. Many Belarusians lost their freedom and their lives in this battle.
The Belarusian protest has yet to achieve its goals. The dictator, who stole the election, has kept power. The Lukashenka regime destroyed civil society and, in four years, arrested more than 65,000 people. More than half a million were forced into exile. At least one thousand four hundred political prisoners suffer in prisons. Anyone not loyal to the regime is at risk of being arrested. The authoritarian regime of Lukashenka, in power since 1994, built a totalitarian system.
The events in Belarus are a sign of a broader trend of dictators utterly disregarding or manipulating voting results and crashing opposition and protests - recent examples being Myanmar, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Georgia. Autocrats learn from each other the techniques to suppress the people’s will and dismantle democratic institutions. They support each other in their criminal actions. Putin has provided monetary and political support to Lukashenka to stay in power. Lukashenka has facilitated the migrant crisis on the European Union’s eastern borders, allowed Russia to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus in violation of non-proliferation agreements, and actively assisted Russia’s criminal invasion and war in Ukraine.
The autocratic Lukashenka regime is a threat to the Belarusian people, Ukraine, the European Union, the United States, its allies, and friends.
Today, the Belarusian Americans, as part of the broader Belarusian movement for democracy and freedom, are expressing solidarity with the people of Belarus, with political prisoners and their families, and with anyone suffering from the malign and criminal actions of autocratic regimes.
We welcome the United States’ unwavering support of the Belarusian people’s democratic aspiration and its steps to hold the Lukashenka regime accountable. Yet, more needs to be done.
We call on the United States to pressure the Lukashenka regime to unconditionally release all political prisoners in Belarus and end its assistance to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
We also ask President Biden to expand and streamline its military aid to Ukraine until Ukraine is victorious and Russia is driven from Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders. The expansion of military assistance is a moral thing to do as it saves Ukrainian lives and is a pushback against the expansion of autocracies to the benefit of a free and democratic world.
