So, what’s going on in Belarus? Why are people so angry?

Here’s some background to set the political scene…

The Soviet Union collapsed and Alexander Lukashenko became president a few years later during the ensuing chaos; he’s remained in power for 26 years, making him Europe’s longest-serving ruler. Lukashenko kept elements of Soviet communism with media channels being loyal to the government and the secret police even still being called the KGB, however, elections in Belarus have never been considered fair. Despite previous public support there had been a shift in perception recently; fuelled by a spreading dissatisfaction regarding low pay, poor opportunities and widespread poverty. Then Coronavirus hit and Lukashenko’s reckless suggestions to combat the virus included saunas, hard work and drinking vodka! Starting to understand why people were getting frustrated?

Then things started to get strange as two opponents were jailed and another fled the country just ahead of the election. The wife of one of the arrested opponents, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, registered as a candidate and drew record crowds in support when she toured the country campaigning. She appealed to the masses as a down to earth former teacher, now a stay at home Mother, advocating for real political change within the country. So voting day arrived, no independent observers were invited and an internet blackout began which lasted days.

It was announced Lukashenko had won with 80% of the votes however, there are suggestions that where the votes were properly counted Tikhanovskaya had polled 60-70%. The day after the election, Tikhanovskaya complained to authorities about falsification of the result; she was detained for seven hours and forced to leave for Lithuania, where she had earlier sent her children for safety.

Understandably, the people of Belarus responded with anger at this blatant tampering of results and the exile of whom many believed to be their fairly elected leader; this outrage spilled out into the streets. Violent clashes led to 3,000 arrests on the night after the election with police firing tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades at crowds – methods which have never been used in Belarus before. Further nights of protests have seen at least another 3,700 arrests with stories emerging of horrific police brutality, overcrowded jails and refusal of medical attention to those detained.

These reports of brutality and abuse, along with photos of injuries sustained have ignited a new wave of protests with loved ones gathering at jails demanding news about detainees and women marching through the streets arm in arm. Many state-owned enterprises have called strikes and joined the protests, including the main state-owned media channel after they vowed to start reporting “the truth”. This comes alongside many police officers resigning and the Belarusian ambassador to Slovakia declaring his solidarity with the protesters.

As more and more reports of police brutality are shared and yet more and more people are still being detained, it begs the question where does this end? What have we learned from recent worldwide events? A university lecturer was detained randomly before the elections and spent three days in a cell with no charges. Thousands of people are reporting being beaten, tortured, starved and sexually abused. A 25 year old man was detained on his way to see his girlfriend, held in a police van for hours and died in custody. Video footage has circulated of a protester being run over by a police car and lying motionless on the ground after the car drives away. Detainees are telling harrowing accounts of being strip searched, abused and threatened with rape. Cells are overcrowded meaning people are taking turns to sleep as there isn’t enough space to lie down; cells designed for two people holding twelve and cells designed for ten holding thirty. Let’s not forget we’re also still in the midst of a pandemic. The interior ministry however, insists that its measures are “adequate”. Are we not sick to the stomach of hearing stories like this?

But why does this really matter to anyone who doesn’t live in Belarus? Surely this is their issue and it’s to do with their politics, right? WRONG. This matters.

This matters because people around the world have spent years saying “never again” to a dictatorship whose police torture the opposition at will. This matters because democratic freedoms should be upheld. This matters because people have the right to freedom of speech. This matters because people have the right to protest peacefully. This matters because we expect our justice systems to be fair. This matters because people are being beaten, tortured, sexually abused and killed by the police. This matters because if this can happen in Belarus what stops it from happening anywhere else.

This is a human rights catastrophe and it matters because we’re all human.