If the Canadian Foreign Minister wants to talk about one of the most important global political events of these days, he doesn’t call Brussels, Berlin or Paris. Canada’s top diplomat Francois-Philippe Champagne turned to its counterpart in Lithuania at the weekend. He thanked the Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius for the leadership role the country has taken to help Belarus during this difficult time.
The events in Belarus since election day surprised even long-time Belarus experts. Practically no one expected such a strong nationwide protest movement against the previous head of state Alexander Lukashenko.
But while diplomats from other European countries were still trying to get a picture of the situation, the Lithuanian government went much further. As the opposition candidate in Minsk Svetlana Tichanovskaya disappeared for several hours the day after the election and could not be reached, it was Lithuania’s foreign minister Linkevicius , who sounded the alarm in a tweet expressing concern for their safety.
Lithuania advocates determination
The Baltic state, which for historical reasons has close ties with the neighboring country, campaigned for decisive action by the EU, called for an end to the repression in Belarus and opened its borders, which are actually closed due to the corona crisis, to the people of Belarus. Lithuania be willing to accept on humanitarian grounds those who suffered from brutal repression Linkevicius .
When it became known that numerous arrested demonstrators had been severely and systematically tortured by Belarusian security forces, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister said it was no longer enough to express “serious concern” – a typical phrase used in European diplomacy. Consequences should now follow. At the same time, the country provided financial aid for the treatment of the injured and tortured.
On Sunday, more than 100,000 people gathered for a peaceful demonstration in Minsk alone, demanding the … Photo: Sergei GAPON / AFP Lukashenko should end violence
The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia called on Lukashenko in a joint statement last Thursday to end the violence, release the detained demonstrators and start a process of dialogue. Based on experiences in their own countries, they proposed a “round table of national reconciliation” at which representatives of the government and civil society should meet.
“We stand ready to offer our mediation efforts to achieve a peaceful solution in Belarus and to strengthen the independence and sovereignty of your country,” the four presidents wrote to Lukashenko.
EU adopts new sanctions
There are no comparable initiatives in other EU countries or in the entire European Union. The foreign ministers of the 27 member states unanimously passed new sanctions on Friday aimed specifically at those responsible for election fraud and violence against demonstrators. However, it is still unclear who is on the sanctions list – and whether the punitive measures will also be directed against Lukashenko himself. The Belarusian opposition representative Maria Kolesnikova is skeptical of the EU’s plans. Sanctions against government officials could worsen the chances of dialogue in Belarus, she warned.
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Brussels does not have a clear concept
But beyond the sanctions, no concept has yet been identified with which the EU intends to respond to the dramatic events in Belarus. Lukashenko has repeatedly played off the EU and Russia against each other in recent years. If there was too much headwind from Brussels because of the disregard for human rights, he demonstratively approached Moscow. However, when the Kremlin showed too clear ambitions to deepen the union of the two states, and thus the independence of Belarus seemed to be in danger, Lukashenko flashed back to the west.
The opposition blames Alexander Lukashenko for gross human rights violations. Photo: Dmitri Lovetsky / AP / dpa
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From his perspective, this strategy was quite successful: In 2016, the EU lifted the sanctions that were imposed in 2010 after a fraudulent election and the crackdown on the protests.
German diplomacy is surprisingly silent
A few days ago, Chancellor Angela Merkel was “shocked” by the mistreatment of detained demonstrators and condemned the violence. The government stands by the side of all people who are peaceful their Will announce, said Merkel’s spokesman. But the federal government currently wants your Weigh the reaction carefully – The focus is on the concern that Belarus could finally be driven into the arms of Russia. While Canada’s Foreign Minister himself was speaking with Tichanovskaya sought, German diplomacy has so far refrained from establishing contacts with the protest movement in Belarus.
Opposition criticizes inaction
The opposition in the Bundestag accuses the government of inaction in view of the dramatic situation in Belarus. “The reaction of the federal government was disappointing,” said the FDP MP Renata Old the Tagesspiegel. “Both the Federal Foreign Office and the Chancellor reacted too late and weakly.”
With the arrest of the opposition candidates in May and June at the latest, it was foreseeable that the situation in Belarus would worsen. “Gross human rights violations are taking place on the EU’s doorstep, and Germany and the EU are watching,” criticized Alt. It is now important to support the peaceful protests and to bring the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) into play as a mediator.
Again and again in the past few days the police used violence against demonstrators. Photo: Sergei GAPON / AFP The FDP politician also called on Germany and the EU to seek talks with Russia. The goals are an end to violence in Belarus and free and fair elections. “You have to avoid a scenario like the one in Ukraine or Prague 1968 at all costs,” said the FDP politician, referring to Russia’s offer to intervene in Belarus in an emergency.
The Greens miss clarity
“The position of the federal government is lacking in clarity,” says the Green member of the Bundestag Manuel Sarrazin . It is not enough to describe the elections as not fair and not free. “The federal government should publicly declare that Lukashenko is not the elected president for them.” The Eastern European expert of the Greens criticized the fact that Berlin and Brussels had still not stopped relying on the “worn out dictator” Lukashenko.
The fact that Belarus’ sovereignty could be preserved vis-à-vis Russia was a “naive misconception”, stressed Sarrazin . Already there is no other head of state in the post-Soviet area who is as dependent on Russia as Lukashenko.
