The Anti-Cockroach Revolution: What You Should Know About the Belarusian Protests
Geneviève Nolet, Online Staff Writer
September 20, 2020
Protest rally against Lukashenko, 16 August. Minsk, Belarus. Image Credit: Homoatrox, Wikimedia Commons
On August 9, 2020, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to as “Europe’s last dictator” was elected for a 6th term in office, with official results accrediting him with 80 percent of the popular vote. Only a few hours later, protests erupted throughout the country, claiming that the results had been rigged and demanding for Lukashenko to resign. This article serves to provide context on the situation unfolding in Belarus as well as reasons why Lukashenko must abdicate.
This is not the first time Lukashenko’s election results have been criticized. International monitors have labeled all but his first election, which was held back in 1994, as neither fair nor free. However, this year was the first time international election observers were prohibited from overseeing the election. In addition, several reasonable candidates were denied by the Central Election Commission of Belarus, which is controlled by Lukashenko’s regime.
Amongst these is, pro-democracy activist and blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky. He was arrested two days after announcing his intention to run as a candidate in the presidential election. When his candidacy was denied, his wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya decided to run instead and became the main opposition leader during the election. Upon his release from detention, Tikhanovsky began travelling Belarus to picket and to collect signatures for his wife’s participation in the election. The pickets and rallies were popular as thousands of people came to support Tikhanovskaya. The slogan “Stop, cockroach!” was used, with “cockroach” referring to President Lukashenko.
During her campaign, Tikhanovskaya was threatened with arrest and with the kidnapping of her children. She was forced to send her children abroad during the campaign and had to flee to Lithuania following the election. Although Tikhanovskaya only acquired 10 percent of the official vote, she is convinced she would have won with a majority had the election not been fraudulent. According to the Economist’s Russia Editor Arkady Ostrovsky, “there was enough evidence to suggest that he [Lukashenko] actually lost the election” while Tikhanovskaya “seems to have got more than 70 percent” of the popular vote.
The night of the elections, protests began to erupt in the capital, Minsk, and throughout Belarus. What started as largely peaceful protests soon turned sour as riot police were sent to shut down the demonstrations. The police, loyal supporters of Lukashenko’s regime, employed unnecessary violence against both protesters and innocent civilians, in what the United Nations condemned as a “clear violation of international human rights standards”. Riot police have been reported to have brutally beaten protesters with batons, used stun grenades and tear gas, and targeted demonstrators and journalists with rubber bullets.
There are also accounts of police grabbing people at random, including innocent pedestrians, and throwing them into police vans to be tortured and beaten. Police even shot live bullets during one confrontation. A few protesters have been reported dead since the election, one of which was killed by a police vehicle, although authorities deny this to be true. Such violence is barbaric and much too excessive. Thousands of protesters were detained throughout the country and many remain unaccounted for at the time of writing.
In the wake of the Belarusian election, states took various stances regarding Lukashenko’s disproportionate victory. Notably, the European Union announced that it would impose sanctions on Belarus so as to target officials responsible for violence, repression and electoral fraud. The EU also rejected Lukashenko’s presidency. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States were “deeply concerned” about the lack of transparency and fairness during the Belarusian presidential elections. François-Philippe Champagne, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister released a statement in which he declared that Canada was “deeply concerned by the actions of Belarusian authorities” which “further eroded the democratic legitimacy of the vote”. He pressed Belarus to “exercise restraint and uphold respect for human rights” while promising to continue to support the people of Belarus.
While several countries refuse to recognize Lukashenko’s victory, others such as Russia and China have endorsed the authoritarian regime. Following a phone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko claimed that Russia had agreed to provide the Belarusian government with assistance in maintaining national security.
Now over two weeks since the election, some major factories and even police officers have gone on strike to protest the police brutality and stand in solidarity with the demonstrations. Several state TV employees began demanding to stop censorship as the media was ordered to paint the protests as riots engendered by the West or to completely ignore them.
It is indisputable that Lukashenko must resign and that a fair and free election must take place. Belarusians deserve a democratically elected leader who will represent them as opposed to repressing and terrorizing them. Anyone resorting to measures such as threatening opposition candidates, falsifying election results and employing inhumane violence should not be allowed in positions of power.
Other countries should further pressure Lukashenko to abdicate by refusing to recognize his victory, by supporting Belarusian protesters and by imposing sanctions on those responsible for the violence observed during the demonstrations. Upon a just election, Belarus should be supported economically by the EU in its recovery from the damage caused by Lukashenko’s administration. After 26 years under his rule of terror, Belarusians could finally elect a leader who has the country’s best interest at heart.