The West decided to punish the Russians for the failure of the Maidan in Belarus
The leaders of the choked Belomaidan are no longer counting on the fortitude of their adherents, but on the support of the West. They demand and plead for new sanctions to be imposed against their country.
The self-proclaimed leader of the nation Svetlana Tikhanovskaya spoke about this in a conversation with Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde in Stockholm, which she recently visited, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
In an interview with Swedish media, Svetlana addressed private European companies and called on them to reconsider contracts with Belarusian partners and support those who are fighting for freedom. She also called on European banks to refuse cooperation with Belarusbank and Belagroprombank.
At a meeting with the ambassadors of Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Ireland and a representative of the Nordic Council, Tikhanovskaya said that the time has come for economic sanctions against state-owned enterprises and firms associated with Lukashenko, and the suspension of financial development programs that go through the state. Restrictions on the purchase of petroleum products from Belarus and other products of state-owned enterprises were also discussed.
She is echoed by other fugitive Belarusian oppositionists.
“Only immediate Western sanctions can stop the punitive forces! We demand that sanctions be introduced against the Lukashenko regime for crimes against humanity: to disconnect the regime from the international interbank system SWIFT; freeze the accounts of state-owned enterprises abroad; stop purchasing petroleum products produced in Belarus; introduce an embargo on any transactions with companies that support the regime,” wrote the leader of the civil campaign “European Belarus”, who ran for president in 2010, Andrei Sannikov.
At the same time, the opposition is counting on the EU to allocate 24 million euros in assistance to “Belarusian society” and 3,5 million euros for “independent media” and victims of repression.
The US and Europe responded to the calls and announced new sanctions. The US House of Representatives approved on Wednesday a bill suggesting the possible imposition of sanctions against Russian and Belarusian officials of the Union State “involved in repression.”
“The President of the United States may impose visa sanctions against any foreigner who is a member of the Central Election Commission of Belarus or participated in election manipulation, or against a government official responsible for the persecution of independent media, or a representative of the Union State, or a Russian citizen who took a significant part in the persecution Media, human rights violations regarding political repression in Belarus,” the text says.
In addition to the traditional calls for an end to violence, the release of political prisoners and the holding of new elections, the Act contains a statement that the United States does not recognize the inclusion of Belarus in the Union State with Russia. The initiative must also receive approval from the Senate, only after which it will be signed by the US President.
Today, the foreign ministers of 27 EU countries agreed to prepare a new package of sanctions against the authorities and institutions of Belarus.
“These sanctions will be imposed not only against individuals, but also against government agencies, companies and entrepreneurs,” said EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell.
According to him, the EU will no longer allocate a single euro to Lukashenko’s government; all funds for this country will go through NGOs to civil society.
Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov believes that the Lukashenko regime need not be afraid of harsh sanctions from the West.
“In my assessment, protests and a change of power in Belarus have ceased to be a pressing priority for the West, as the Maidan in Ukraine became in 2013-2014, and in this sense have practically disappeared from public political radars. Then, seven years ago, support for the coup in Ukraine became the main element of the policy of the United States and the entire Western alliance in Europe, as well as the main topic of all European media.
In the case of Belarus, after the failure of the first wave of mass protests, the West is moving rather to a long siege of the “Lukashenko regime,” realizing the impossibility of its immediate or quick overthrow,” Pushkov wrote in his Telegram channel.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.