Two months of protests – Belarus Civil Society Digest
Two months of ongoing Belarusian protests demanding Lukashenka to step down continue with no sign of abating.
For 8th Sunday in a row, as many as 100,000 people thronged the center of Minsk – police deployed water cannons and arrested some 300 demonstrators. 16 journalists covering the protests were among those arrested.
Senior citizens organized their first march of protest. BY_Help/BYSOL provided almost $1.5mln to support the repressed. Health Ministry admits that the second wave of COVID-19 has started.
- The daily solidarity and protests actions continue across the country showing their “maturity and meaningfulness”. Neighborhood solidarity at rebellious courtyards is becoming a trend of resistance. Along with student sit-ins and video appeals, street-art everywhere, non-payment of utilities, boycotting the Lukashenka-related companies, workers of large plants (Naftan, MTZ, MZKT) switch to independent trade unions and some 1,300 cultural figures speak out against violence. This Monday, for the first time, seniors organized their march in Minsk.
- Civil society. Dze.chat platform helps Belarusians find supporters through 1,000 local Telegram chats. The Honest People initiative launched the ZAVOD chat bot to unite Belarusian workers. The Citizenship Education Week and the Week Against the Death Penalty are held in Belarus. The payments of BY_Help/BYSOL aid to the repressed have amounted to $1,300,000 with 1,500 cases supported. Cryptocurrency exchange Kuna.io and BYSOL fund kicked off new crowdfunding.
- Coordination Council. The Council announces its campaign to involve Belarusians in Constitutional reform. Calling for international support, the opposition leader Sviatlana Tikhanouskaya met with German Chancellor and Slovak President, as well as with MFA Heads of Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Greece and Slovakia. The opposition sanctions list includes some 800 people responsible for the violence in the country.
- Repressions. 3 protesters killed, 500 cases of torture, 1,800 allegations of violence, over 300 journalists detained, and zero cases opened to investigate police brutality – the human rights defenders release the Belarus After Election report. 97 political prisoners remain in jail (+20 new political prisoners this week). Please check out documentaries of The Guardian and TV Rain devoted to victims of repressions.
- Economy in recession. If the current government remains, the most optimistic scenario will be a prolonged decline of the economy, and then stagnation, economists believe. Gold and foreign exchange reserves decreased again – by $136 million in September. Nine Belarusian banks completely stopped lending, in other banks interest rates on loans reach up to 39%. Gazprom views Belarus as an unstable transit country due to the current political situation.
- International reaction. EU states recall their Ambassadors from Belarus. 32 Polish diplomats leave Belarus to meet the demand of the official Minsk. The EU Delegation Head stays in Minsk so that “communication channels remain.” The International Olympic Committee, IOC investigates into political interference in Belarus. Russia puts Tikhanouskaya on the wanted list.
- COVID-19. Healthcare Ministry admits the second wave of COVID-19 in Belarus with over 400 daily new cases and advises Belarusians to limit the number of contacts by 75%. Since the beginning of the pandemic, over 82,000 Belarusians positively tested for and 885 died due to COVID-19.
Belarus Digest prepared this overview on the basis of materials provided by Pact. This digest attempts to give a richer picture of the recent political and civil society events in Belarus. It often goes beyond the hot stories already available in English-language media.
Crackdown on independent media and daily protests – Belarus civil society digest
For almost 50 days Belarusians continue daily protests against the illegitimacy of the 6th presidential term of Lukashenka, including weekly Saturday’s Women Marches and massive Sunday rallies. This week, Belarusians flooded the streets after a “secret” inauguration ceremony on September 23, which resulted in police’s use of water cannons, tear gas, stun grenades and detention of over 380 people during post-inauguration protests.
The daily solidarity and protests actions do not fade away across the country – up to 10% of the population participated in the street post-election protests. Peaceful resistance includes hanging national flags, restoring graffiti, releasing public appeals (mothers of large families, doctors, athletes), creating patriotic flags of districts, student chains of solidarity, quitting government service (the MFA head’s son left his position at MFA), etc. The IT volunteers developed an artificial intelligence that unmasks riot police.
Civil society. The new Mara (Dream) bot-assistant aggregates information about all types of civil society’s assistance, professional and local chats, opportunities for volunteers, etc. Press Club launches new emergency support services for journalists. The BY_help initiative has helped over 800 victims of repressions and their families. In total, over $6.3 million have been raised locally to support Belarusians.
Coordination Council. The health of one of the Council leaders, lawyer Maksim Znak, has deteriorated following the 8-day hunger strike in jail. Maria Kalesnikava’s lawyer was detained in connection with supposed administrative offense. The Council’s leaders in exile addressed the European Parliament. The New York Times uncovers Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s story about her improbable rise from stay-at-home mom to a revolutionary icon.
Repressions. The authorities continue mass detentions of protesters and targeted repressions against activists. The number of the detained since the start of the elections is close to 13,000 people, an anti-record for Eastern Europe’s police repression. Over 250 criminal cases have been opened. The leaders of strike committees are under ongoing harassment. 72 political prisoners remain in jail, including 2 new political prisoners, a human rights activist and active Minsker, this week.
. Since the beginning of the year, over 300 cases of violations of the journalists’ rights are recorded. Nasha Niva chief editor was detained as a suspect in a criminal case. Nasha Niva will be fined for the situation when riot police shot their journalist – the case is interpreted as a “work-related injury.” Four Belsat journalists remain in jail. Media monitoring: State-run TV drives the wedge deeper into society.
Economy in recession. The EDB forecasts that the GDP will fall by 2.3% in 2020. The industry is in a state of bad debts. Belarus is on the verge of downgrading its sovereign credit rating. The draft of the 2021 national budget remains deeply deficient. Over 30% of Belarusian IT specialists say that their companies are ready to relocate them abroad. The IT country is rolling back by at least 5 years.
International reaction. Western countries, including the U.S., EU, all Belarus’ neighbors (except Russia), in response to the 6th inauguration of Lukashenka, reacted by not recognizing him as president-elect. Mikhail Gorbachev, the first president of the USSR states that “Belarusians [protesters] are doing great.” The official Minsk responds that the “multi-vector policy does not ensure the necessary external conditions for Belarus’ favorable development anymore.”
COVID-19. For the first time since July, over 300 new daily cases are registered in Belarus. Almost 77,000 Belarusians positively tested for and 807 died due to COVID-19.
Belarus Digest prepared this overview on the basis of materials provided by Pact. This digest attempts to give a richer picture of the recent political and civil society events in Belarus. It often goes beyond the hot stories already available in English-language media.
