EU and US sanctions see Lukashenko’s attempt to ‘strangle’ Belarus / Article

Latvian Radio correspondent Uģis Lībietis on sanctions against the Lukashenko regime00:00 / 03:09

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Among the new sanctions are Lukashenko’s son Dmitry, who runs the President’s Sports Club. Sanctions have also been imposed on the Belarusian Potassium Company, Grodno Azot, the tire manufacturer Belshina and other major currency sources for the Lukashenko regime.

Experts estimate that these sanctions could prevent Belarus from receiving up to $ 800 million.

Belavia, a Belarusian airline, has been denied the opportunity to lease aircraft from European Union companies. As a result of the ban, the number of aircraft owned by Belavia has almost halved (from 29 to 15).

However, Belavia claims that this will not affect the airline’s operations. With 15 planes in the winter season, the company plans to buy some planes by the summer season, as well as rent them from friendly countries such as Russia and China.

Lukashenko promises not to give in to pressure

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry and Lukashenko himself have responded to the sanctions, at least on the European side, by saying that the response will be harsh, asymmetric but adequate. According to Belarus’s self-proclaimed leader, this is another attempt to stifle the Belarusian economy, rid itself of Europe’s unfavorable competitors and worsen the lives of Belarusians.

“Last year, they did not immediately strangle Belarus and began to suffocate slowly. It is clear that this must be seen in the context of the fight against Russia and those friends who are currently around Russia and Belarus.

Our position is very crucial: we must not only endure, but we must also develop and move forward properly, showing them that we will do without them. “We have everything we need,” says Lukashenko.

Belarus’s economic performance is already not very bright and prices are rising very fast. However, according to political scientist Dmitry Balkunets, Belarus has more than once successfully circumvented European sanctions, and exports to the European Union have almost doubled in the last year. According to him, if the oil sector were affected, the consequences would be much more serious, but strong signals are still being sent to the Lukashenko regime.

There may be an uprising of the hungry

“The aim of these sanctions is not to destroy the Belarusian economy, but to move to a point where the regime will be ready to release political prisoners and agree to hold new elections. That is the main task, ”says Balkuņecs.

“These sanctions also include the airline Belavia, which may not be able to fly to Turkey very soon, as the Turks are unlikely to be ready to argue with European partners.”

But when people are laid off from factories and factories, there can be a social explosion and, if you can say so, a “hunger uprising.”

Political commentator Valērijs Karbaļēvičs believes that the sanctions imposed by the West may serve as a reason for intensifying repression within Belarus, as well as intensifying aggressive rhetoric against the West.

According to him, Lukashenko is trying to raise rates. The West has accepted this challenge, and now much will depend on how closely compliance with the sanctions imposed is monitored.

CONTEXT:

Protests against the regime of Belarus’s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus have been steady since the August 2020 presidential election. For their winner former President Lukashenko was proclaimed, however, the opposition accuses the regime of widespread falsification of election results and demands his resignation. The opposition considers Sviatlan Cihanouska to be the real winner of the election.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Belarus at the height of the protests. Many opposition supporters have been imprisoned or fled abroad. The European Union this year strengthened sanctions against the Lukashenko regime.

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