European Council President Charles Michel wears a protective face mask when he arrives at EU headquarters in Brussels on 19 August 2020, ahead of the launch of the EU emergency video on the crisis in Belarus.
OLIVIER HOSLET | POOL | AFP via Getty Images
The European Union on Wednesday announced plans to impose sanctions on Belarusian officials, with leaders of the 27 heads of state agreeing a new vote would be needed following the controversial re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
European Council President Charles Michel said in a video card that the bloc would soon impose sanctions on a “substantial number” of individuals responsible for violence, repression and election fraud.
The bloc had previously described the vote as “neither free nor fair.”
“We stand firmly behind the right of the Belarusian people to determine their own destiny,” Michel said shortly after concluding an emergency summit with EU leaders.
“I want to address the people of Belarus directly. We stand by your side in your desire to exercise your fundamental democratic rights and in your desire for a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future,” he added.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said EU leaders had also formed a consensus that new elections in Belarus would be necessary, Reuters reported.
‘Systemically brutal’
Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, claimed a landslide victory in the August 9 presidential election, after official results gave him his sixth term in office with 80% of the vote. The authoritarian leader has denied allegations of electoral fraud.
Opposition protesters took to the streets as anger grew over reports of police violence and allegations of vote-rigging.
Authorities have tried to quell the ongoing mass protests using clubs, rubber bullets and stun grenades. Thousands of arrests have been made and at least two protesters have been killed.
Human Rights Watch, which noted most protests had been peaceful, described police rounds as “systemically brutal.”
Large state-owned factories, a traditional support base for Lukashenko, have gone on strike in solidarity with the protesters, and Belarusian authorities have reportedly acknowledged that some police officers have been shut down since their post.
Lukashenko ordered police to stop unrest in the country’s capital, Minsk, on Wednesday, according to official Belta news agency, after more than a week-and-a-half of demonstrations against his leadership.
“People are tired. People demand peace and quiet,” Lukashenko was quoted as saying, adding that “there should be no more disturbance in Minsk of any kind.”
Russia tensions
Regional experts have compared the current situation in Belarus with the political uprising in Ukraine six years ago. The latter resulted in Russian military intervention and a worldwide geopolitical confrontation.
It is for this reason that external observers are closely monitoring Russia’s response to the crisis. A traditional ally of Belarus, Moscow has said it would be ready to offer Lukashenko military support if needed.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will deliver a speech at a rally of his supporters at the Government House in Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus on August 16, 2020.
Reuters
Andrei Illarionov, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, told CNBC via email that he did not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to intervene, but added that this was a “very cautious” expectation.
Putin “would like to replace Lukashenko with someone else who would be much easier prey, who would be a much easier partner to pursue his plan for unification,” Illarionov said.
“Putin is definitely very much interested in keeping Belarus on the Russian sphere of influence, but he is not very interested in keeping Lukashenko in power,” he added.
‘Respect the sovereignty of Belarus’
Ahead of the EU’s emergency summit, Belarus’s main opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, called on the bloc to recognize Lukashenko’s election victory as “fraudulent.”
The 37-year-old former English teacher claimed the embattled authoritarian leader had “lost all legitimacy in the eyes of our nation and the world.”
They urge the EU to “respect the sovereignty of Belarus and the choice of the people of Belarus.”
Tikhanovskaya had initially been untenable to challenge Lukashenko after her husband was prevented from running and imprisoned by authorities.
According to official results, she received about 10% of the vote, and has since fled to Lithuania amid fears for the safety of her family.
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