BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th August, 2020) While most of the EU officials were trying to enjoy this year's pandemic-style summer holidays, the presidential election in Belarus and its unforeseen violent aftermath as a result of long-serving President Alexander Lukashenko's disputed re-election has baffled the European Union and the rest of the international community, forcing them to convene emergency meetings.
Nationwide protests broke out in Belarus after the August 9 election, in which incumbent President Lukashenko won his sixth consecutive term with 80.1 percent of the vote. The opposition challenged the outcome, claiming that candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who came second with roughly 10 percent, was the legit winner.
In the first days of the rallies, security forces used tear gas, water cannons, stun grenades and rubber bullets against protesters, which caused serious concerns abroad.
According to official estimates, more than 6,700 people were detained in the early days of the unrest. Many of them have since been released. Hundreds of others, including more than 150 law enforcement officers, were injured, and three protesters died.
The European bloc first voiced its concerns regarding the rising tensions in Belarus the next day after the votes were cast, on August 10. EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the use of force by the security services and law enforcement officers against Belarusians.
On August 11, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the European Union was going to review sanctions against Minsk, while the foreign ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden called on the Belarusian government to engage in a dialogue with the opposition.
On August 14, Borrell and the 27 EU foreign ministers discussed the situation via a videoconference and reiterated their call to the Belarusian authorities to stop the disproportionate and unacceptable violence against peaceful protesters and to release those detained. Ministers also agreed on the need to sanction those responsible for violence, repression and the falsification of election results.
On Wednesday, August 19, the European leaders finally held the online emergency EU summit, during which European Council President Charles Michel said that "what we have witnessed in Belarus is shocking and the EU has started work on sanctions."
EU LAWMAKERS SAY SANCTIONS NOT A SOLUTION
Filip Dewinter, a member of the Belgian Federal parliament from the right-wing �Vlaams Blok, told Sputnik that imposing sanctions on Minsk was not wise in the given situation.
"Europe must also realize that it does not have a monopoly on democracy and must not try to impose itself in the middle East or in Eastern Europe, with a hidden agenda. Likewise, the EU is again speaking of 'sanctions' for Belarus; this is wrong and totally counterproductive. It would only hurt the population even more than it is now," Dewinter noted.
The lawmaker added that Europe was acting cautiously around Belarus, because unlike the situation in Ukraine, where things were much more complex since the 2014 revolution, Minsk is still under the Russian sphere of influence.
"For Belarus, the EU must agree with Moscow on a common goal that ensures a smooth transition to a 'post-Lukashenko' country. Clearly a majority of the Belarus citizens want Lukashenko out; they are not pro-Europe or anti-Moscow. They just want internal change," Dewinter said.
Armin-Paulus Hampel, a German lawmaker from the right-wing Alternative for Germany political party, shares a similar view when it comes to the issue of sanctions against Belarus.
"The current situation in Belarus is confusing and difficult to assess from the outside. The demand of western politicians for sanctions is therefore fundamentally wrong and would only worsen the situation. The West would do well to stay out of Belarus. We'd better keep calm and not make the same mistakes we made in Ukraine in 2014," Hampel told Sputnik.
According to the German lawmaker, the solution to the crisis could rather be found in Moscow, than in Brussels or Washington, since the two Slavic nations share a long history of brotherly relations.
"The West has to accept this. [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin has long distanced himself from Lukashenko and urged him to reform. Hopefully, Lukashenko will now listen to his Russian counterpart due to the pressure of the street [protests]," Hampel concluded.
Meanwhile, according to a civil servant at the European Council, who wished to remain anonymous, Belarus is still in relatively good shape, despite years of struggles after the collapse of the Soviet Union and corruption.
"If the transition for the after-Lukashenko is done well and if the EU and Russia can agree on helping the country in the right direction, Belarus could harmoniously develop, at the very heart of Europe," the source said.
At the end of the day, as voiced by EU's Michel and von der Leyen during the online summit, it is up to the people of Belarus to decide their country's fate.
