Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Zihanusskaya told EURACTIV before this week’s important Eastern Partnership Summit that there is a need to better coordinate Western sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s regime to fill the current situation. Existing loopholes.
“There are too many loopholes left. Lukashenko and his mob are using these loopholes to abuse international law. They know how to circumvent sanctions,” Qihanusskaya said in an interview in Brussels.
She emphasized that one of the loopholes is the trade with potash, which is one of Belarus’s main export products and therefore one of the most important sources of income for the Lukashenko regime.
In June, the European Union imposed sanctions on potash fertilizers from the country with a potassium content of less than 40% or a potassium content of more than 62% in dry products. All the above substances are not included in the EU sanctions list.
“The European Union imposes sanctions on Belarus and the United States imposes sanctions on Belarusian potash companies-so its structure is also different,” she said.
“Actually, sanctions have almost no effect. Due to the increase in potash prices, trade with potash has actually increased in value since last year, which allows the regime to obtain an additional 5 million euros through transactions,” she added.
Lack of coordination
Qihanusskaya said that the most obvious problem with pressure on the regime is the lack of coordinated sanctions, adding that no one can investigate whether the sanctions imposed have been implemented.
Qihanuskaya said: “Sanctions should be more coordinated and united, because abandoning halfway will only harm our situation and will only extend Lukashenko’s time in power,” Qihanuskaya said on Sunday. (December 12) A discussion point was added during the meeting with EU foreign ministers. How to make sanctions tougher.
The leader of the Belarusian opposition also criticized the lengthy procedures between different rounds of EU sanctions in the past, which she said made it possible to circumvent sanctions that have already been implemented.
“The gap between one round of sanctions and another round of sanctions is too great, and the Lukashenko regime can use this time to open new organizations that are not sanctioned,” Qihanusskaya said.
“We are worried that it is only discussing, but when will it be implemented-three, four or five months? No one knows,” Qihanusskaya said.
According to EU diplomats, the sixth sanctions plan is already under discussion, but the scope and timing are unclear.
“I always emphasize that this is an urgent issue, because our time, our prisoner’s time, is different from yours,” she emphasized.
Violation of human rights, television broadcast
Qihanusskaya said: “What the regime is doing now is very ugly, they detain people and force them to confess guilt in front of the camera-this should resonate in European society,” adding that this practice is increasingly Target people with different sexual orientations.
Earlier this year, YouTube defendant Belarusian authorities posted a confession video advertisement for prisoners including detained journalist and activist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega. The complaint alleges that YouTube ads are promoting the Belarusian government’s propaganda.
According to Tsihanouskaya, these ads raise questions about the ability of social media platforms to effectively regulate how their platforms can be used to amplify suspicious content.
“YouTube must pay attention to the fact that these videos are common and they are not blocked,” she said, adding that it needs to “start to compete with this type of video.”
“We will contact YouTube management to raise this issue,” she added.
When asked if she was worried that the current immigration crisis on the border between Poland and Belarus would divert attention from the precarious situation of political prisoners in the country, Qihanusskaya said: “We have no right to forget them.”
“Our mission is to remind people that our main task is to help people in Belarusian prisons-they are hostages, just like immigrants at the border,” she said.
“Lukashenko can threaten the EU with other threats, as he did recently when he deployed Russian nuclear weapons or drug trafficking. But if his regime is not dissolved, we will not be able to stop all these threats,” she added.
EU support for Belarus
Before the Eastern Partnership Summit on Wednesday (December 15), the European Union announced that it would increase support for Belarusian civil society by 30 million euros.
Minsk is likely to represent the Belarusian flag and empty chairs.
Although the best solution is to include representatives of the Belarusian opposition, Qihanusskaya admitted that this is impossible under international regulations.
“But we desperately need the participation of the Eastern Partnership, and we ask those in charge of it to invite representatives of Belarus and its people to participate in any discussions,” she said.
She added: “We will need these plans to reform after the transition period in the future.”
When asked how the EU can increase pressure on Lukashenko, Qihanusskaya said that she believes there is political will among European countries, but also lacks the tools and tools to influence the regime.
Last month, she criticized the former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had had many phone calls with Lukashenko.
“We have been cooperating with the new German government because they are not the new government. For more than a year, we know that the new government is our ally,” she said, adding that the new German leadership gave her “deep involvement” in this matter. impression.
In addition to EU support, Qihanusskaya also stated that the Belarusian opposition hopes that other organizations will participate more.
“During the OSCE’s presidency, we had high hopes for Sweden. We tried to organize some events about Belarus, but almost nothing happened,” she said, adding that the next chairman Poland is expected to make more efforts. Because they are directly affected by the Lukashenko regime.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
