Written by Selina Holgersson
On the 10th July 1994, Alexander Lukashenko was elected President of Belarus after receiving 80.3% of the vote. This event set off a chain of reactions which has severely deteriorated the state of human rights and rule of law in Belarus, and as of 2017, presidential and parliamentary elections in Belarus are no longer considered to be free and fair by the OSCE, United Nations, the EU and the U.S. However, OSCE stopped recognising elections as fair in 1995, only one year after President Lukashenko’s first election.
Brave Belarusians have taken the streets to protest against these unfair elections for decades, and over the years international watchdogs have uncovered systematic abuse, torture and imprisonment of these activists who dare to question President Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime. These activists are not only fighting for democracy and free elections in their country, but they are inadvertently fighting for their own sovereignty under the weight of Russian interference.
But how did Belarus end up here?
Alexander Lukashenko began his political career at a young age, originally holding a post in the Soviet army and the communist youth organisation back when Belarus was still a part of the Soviet Union. In 1990, he was elected to the parliament in the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic and he was the only deputy who was against an agreement that led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In 1994, he was elected as President for the first time, and by 1996 he had persuaded Belarusian voters to approve constitutional amendments which expanded the authority of the presidency. Since then, he has received significant financial and political support from Russia, with many viewing President Lukashenko as a puppet of the Russian government.
In recent years, human rights violations in Belarus have hit international headlines. Particularly the protests held after President Lukashenko won his 6th term with 80% of the vote in 2020. Pro-democratic protesters embarked on the streets of Minsk and several Belarusian cities. The peaceful protest quickly turned violent, with Belarusian police and military targeting the protestors. Just a few months after the election, the United Nations Human Rights Office reported more than 450 documented cases of torture and mistreatment of activists and the Viana Human Rights centre documented 1,000 testimonies of torture victims. It is estimated that up to 35,000 people were arrested during these protests. President Lukashenko’s main opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, fled the country in fear of her life. This effectively ended any real political opposition to President Lukashenko. The elections were criticised internationally, with the EU publishing a statement rejecting the legitimacy of the elections and condemning the repression of protestors. Shortly after, the EU, UK and Canada all imposed sanctions on Belarusian officials.
Just last year, President Lukashenko made headlines again after the Belarusian authorities forced a Ryanair passenger plane to land in Minsk due to an alleged bomb threat. Once landed, the authorities boarded the plane and arrested journalist Roman Protasevich, a vocal critic of President Lukashensko’s regime. Protasevich was in exile in Lithuania and had been actively organising protests through the messaging app Telegram. However, after the forced landing of the plane he was detained in Minsk and now stands accused of organising riots, facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Later that same year, Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystina Tsimanouskaya refused to fly back to Belarus after the Olympic games in Tokyo. Tsimanouskaya criticised Belarusian Olympic officials for forcing her to race in the 4 x 400 metres relay without her consent; she later sought protection from Japanese airport police over fears for her safety. After receiving international attention, she was eventually granted a humanitarian visa in Poland where she still remains.
The violation of democracy on the EU’s border after 3 decades since the dissolution of the Soviet Union is a threat to the stability of Eastern Europe and causes serious doubts over the West’s handling of these regimes, particularly since Belarus falls under the European Neighbourhood Policy. The situation has since escalated further as Belarus assisted Russia in their invasion of Ukraine, allowing Russian troops to enter Ukraine through the Belarus border. Since the start of the invasion, an investigation into potential war crimes by Russian troops has been launched, once again associating Belarus with anti-democratic and illegal behaviour. The situation is desperately deteriorating and in the process Belarus slips further away from joining the rest of its former-Soviet neighbours in modern-day democracy. Although the West needs to address the real danger that comes from President Lukashensko’s rule, there has to be a harmonised response from the West to prevent Belarus from slipping into the isolationist future that Russia is headed for. While the West must do what they can to defend Ukraine, we must also ensure that the 9.4 million people of Belarus are not lost in an anti-democratic abyss in the process.
The Young European Federalist (JEF Europe) have been organising the “Free Belarus Action” since 2006 to raise awareness of President Lukashensko’s regime. In 2014, this was rebranded to the “Democracy under Pressure Action” with the intention of addressing numerous violations of democracy and human rights in Europe.
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Speak up for democracy on social media – Remember to use #DemocracyUnderPressure !
- Consider writing a letter to a prisoner in Bearus or if you did it already that and the prisoner is still imprisoned, write a follow-up letter to them!
- Organise an event covering topics of the campaign, such as reasons behind democratic values put under pressure, why people vote for parties that want to limit human rights, how the rule of law is under threat in the EU and beyond.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not necessarily be reflective of JEF as a whole
