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Ten people arrested last week in an investigation of the militant Irish nationalist New IRA group have been charged on a range of offenses from directing terrorism to conspiracy to possess explosives, Northern Ireland police said on Monday. The New IRA, one of a small number of active militant groups opposed to Northern Ireland’s 1998 peace deal, have been behind some of the sporadic attacks that have continued, including the murder of journalist Lyra McKee last year. The 10 people, eight men and two women – were charged with a total of 39 offenses as a result of a coordinated investigation with police in Scotland, Ireland and Britain that was also assisted by Britain’s MI5 domestic intelligence agency. The New IRA is far smaller than the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which disarmed after the peace accord mostly ended three decades of conflict between mainly Protestant supporters of continued British rule of the province and largely Catholic proponents of unification with the Irish Republic. The group was formed in 2012 after three of the four main militant nationalist groups merged, the first time since the peace deal that most of the disparate nationalist groups still intent on violence came together under one leadership. It has also been responsible for the separate killings of two prison officers since then. 
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Sundays for the Barysevich family are usually a time to catch up on chores and take their two young children to nearby parks and playgrounds. But just weeks after a disputed election in Yauheni Barysevich’s Belarusian homeland, this past Sunday was a time to protest.“The last two weeks have been very different for our family and every Belarusian around the world,” he told VOA.Shortly after breakfast, he set out on foot with his 5-year-old daughter, Lauren, pedaling her bicycle alongside, a big red-and-white Belarusian flag streaming from the back of it.“My wife sewed this flag back in 2006,” Barysevich said, recalling that the now-familiar symbol of protest could not be purchased in the United States at that time. “I have taken it to every Belarusian event in the U.S. It has traveled with me to different states. And now my children know about it and what it signifies.”Many families brought their children (even a pet) to take part in the demonstration in Washington on Aug. 23, 2020. (Natalie Liu/VOA)Barysevich came to the United States from Belarus in 2004 and met his Russian-born wife a year later. The pair, now in their 30s, both work in the IT industry in the Washington area.Barysevich said the march was much more than just a Sunday outing for young Lauren.“This is an important time for Belarus, and I want my daughter to remember it and feel that she was a part of it,” he said.It took Barysevich and Lauren an hour to walk and bike the 3 miles from their home to the Lithuanian embassy, where several hundred people had gathered.Washingtonians marched on Aug. 23, 2020 in support of protesters in Belarus. (Natalie Liu/VOA)After brief remarks, the crowd formed a line in the manner of the “human chain” created by residents of the Baltic states to protest Soviet rule in 1989. They then set off through the midday August heat along 16th Street NW toward the embassy of Belarus.The marchers carried banners saying, “Free Belarus” and “Baltic Way 1989; Freedom Way 2020.” Many passing drivers honked their horns in support.Among the marchers was Roman Vasiliuk, who said he was 18 when he took part in demonstrations in his native Belarus in 2006. Since coming to the United States 14 years ago as a student, he has continued demonstrating for Belarus’ freedom.“Americans do what they can,” but ultimately it is the job of the Belarusian people to bring about change back home, he said, adding that continuous demonstrations and continuous pressure will be crucial.Aleksas Radzius, who drove from Baltimore to Washington to join the protest, said he makes a point of participating in all of the protests aimed at overthrowing dictators.“I was here when [the Baltic states] gained their independence,” said Radzius, who was born in Lithuania and came to America as a 6-year-old in 1950.Roman Vasiliuk, center, Aleksas Radzius, right, and Vytas Pakalniskis came from Virginia and Maryland to take part in the demonstration in support of protesters in Belarus held in Washington, Aug. 23, 2020. (Natalie Liu/VOA)History in the makingThe mostly Eastern European marchers were joined by a number of Americans, including Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO who also served as a special representative on Ukraine negotiations.Explaining that he was there as a private citizen, Volker told VOA that years from now, all the families that had brought their children to the event would remember the day.Volker said he was there, along with other Washingtonians, to let the protesting people of Belarus know that “they’re not alone,” and that there should be no use of force against the peaceful protesters as events unfold there.Dovydas Spokauskas, the deputy chief of mission at the embassy of Lithuania, explained the significance of the human chain formed at the start of Sunday’s protest.“Thirty-one years ago, tens of thousands of Lithuanians, Estonians and Latvians went from Vilnius to Tallinn and formed a life chain. That was our way of saying to the Soviet Union that it’s enough, freedom is important for us, nobody was to tell us what to do any more.“We feel that today, it’s the Belarusians who’re telling us the same thing. That’s why no Lithuanian can stay silent or stay idle.”Spokauskas was 8 years old in 1989 when he and his parents took their positions in the line.
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Chants of “Long Live Belarus” echoed through a busy intersection in the Chicago suburb of Buffalo Grove, as people dressed in red and white — the colors of the Belarusian flag — proudly waved their home country’s banner and sang patriotic songs. Local Belarusians, part of Chicago’s large Eastern European community, have been rallying in solidarity with the people of Belarus since that nation’s August 9 election in which President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term over opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya with what officials declared was 80% of the vote. Since then, tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of the Belarussian capital, Minsk, charging that the election outcome was rigged and demanding the resignation of Lukashenko, whom critics have characterized as “Europe’s last dictator.” “All the power is in the hands of just one person. And what’s on his mind? No one knows,” said Stas Pivavarau, who held red and white balloons. “Against his people, he is prepared to go as far as he can, simply to remain in the seat.” Pivavarau, who moved to Chicago a year ago to be with his parents and brother, had been studying in New Zealand and supported Tsikhanouskaya in the recent election. The Belarusian community in the Chicago area supports protestors in Belarus who have faced violence in the past few weeks at the hands of police, August 22, 2020. (Kulsoom Khan/VOA)“This woman has become a symbol of changes — positive changes,” he said. In Belarus, protests over the election results have been met with violence at the hands of police, including beatings, torture, arrests and detentions. “It’s painful to even watch the pictures of the people, so that’s basically why I’m here,” said Marat Dzekevich, who wore a Belarusian flag on his back. “Even though I’ve lived in the U.S. for 16 years, my heart is still with Belarus.”  Zhanna Charniauskaya, an organizer with a nonprofit cultural organization called Belarusians in Chicago, said the Belarusian people lack basic rights such as freedom of speech, assembly and to protest. The high school chemistry teacher immigrated to the U.S. in 1997 after the breakup of the Soviet Union. She lived in Wisconsin with her husband and children for two years before settling in the Chicago suburbs. “People are politically intimidated,” she said. “If we have a political opinion, and if it’s more or less a public person, they lose their jobs and are put in jail.” BelarusSafety for families back home is a major concern for the Belarusian community in the U.S. Many of Charniauskaya’s relatives, including her brother, sisters-in-law and nephews, have taken part in the protests. Pivavarau said his sister in Belarus is frightened to leave her home. Dzekevich’s nephew in Belarus was walking home with his friends when he was detained by police, jailed and beaten, even though he did not take part in the demonstrations. Dzekevich said the authorities confiscated his nephew’s phone, which left him unable to contact his parents. “Until the morning when he was let out, no one knew where he was, so it was very stressful for my family,” he said. “The police brutality is all over the place. They just lost the sense of humanity in them.” Belarusians in Chicago recently submitted a petition to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. Charniauskaya also plans to send another petition to Senator Tammy Duckworth on behalf of the group. “We will try to reach every representative to create pressure that Congress takes serious steps against the authoritative regime of Lukashenko,” she said. “I hope we have enough strength for the protest not to die down. So, I’m sending the message to our people in Belarus that we’ll be doing whatever is possible here to keep your spirits up. And I want you to know that the world is watching, and the world is giving you a helping hand.” 
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Many of China’s Uighur minority have sought sanctuary in Turkey following China’s crackdown on the largely Muslim Turkic-speaking minority. Observers describe conditions of those detained by the Chinese government as akin to concentration camps.  With Beijing stepping up pressure on Ankara, some Uighur refugees fear for their future in Turkey. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. Produced by: Rod James
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Despite protests from Italy’s central government, the governor of Sicily has ordered all migrant centers on the island be shut down Monday and all migrants be transferred to shelters on the mainland, citing concerns about a new surge of COVID-19 cases. The governor is drawing fire from officials in Italy’s central government, who say he has no authority to do so. The governor of Sicily, Nello Musumeci, issued an order for all migrants to be transferred out of reception centers on the island to others on the mainland, saying it is not possible to guarantee the health measures necessary to prevent COVID-19 infections.Musumeci’s order effectively closed ports on the island to the arrival of migrants vessels of all kinds, including ones operated by charities. Italy’s Interior Ministry reacted saying Musumeci’s order has no value because migration is an issue for the central government.Number of Migrants Landing in Italy More Than Doubles in Past YearIn the 12-month period, more than 5,000 people were rescued in the Mediterranean, according to official data; most came from Tunisia and Libya Musumeci justified his action alleging that neither the Italian government nor Europe has done anything about the increasing arrival of migrants. Sicily, he said, cannot allow what he described as “this invasion” to continue.Musumeci said that every day Sicilians are called to make sacrifices to contain new infections and asked to wear masks, ensure social distancing and adopt all other measures of caution and prevention and then the state amasses migrants in halls (shelters) that become areas of outbreaks.Musumeci said that for two months he has been calling on the government, responsible for migrant policies, to declare a state of emergency on the tiny island of Lampedusa, where for weeks a migrant center has been holding many more migrants than it should be.Some have called the governor of the Sicily region to quit, saying he should resign if he is unable to manage his territory. Other politicians on the right say Musumeci is acting appropriately and blame the migrants’ presence for a rise in the number of infections.    Reports from health officials point to Italian vacationers returning home.On Sunday for the second straight day, Italy registered more than 1,000 new coronavirus infections, the highest number since May 12.  The numbers until recently had dropped to around 200 daily new cases. With the approach of the start to the school year on September 14, authorities are concerned the infection rate will climb further.Health minister Roberto Speranza has made clear the government is not planning new lockdowns. 
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Belarusian authorities arrested two leading opposition activists allegedly helping to spearhead protests in the country, demanding the resignation of longtime President Alexander Lukashenko following a disputed election.The opposition’s Coordination Council said police in the capital, Minsk detained its members Olga Kovalkova and Sergei Dylevsky on Monday. City police confirmed their detention. People carry a large historical white-red-white flag of Belarus during an opposition demonstration to protest against presidential election results, in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 23, 2020.Tens of thousands of people rallied in the Belarus capital Sunday, despite army warnings, with calls for Lukashenko to resign after the disputed election results, a post-election crackdown, and a heavy military presence in the city.     “Today, we can’t sit back and watch how protests are being held by these sacred places under the flags that fascists organized the mass killings of Belarusians, Russians, Jewish people and other nationalities,” said Defense Minister Victor Khrenin. “We cannot allow this. We categorically warn: any violation of peace and order in such places — you will have the army to deal with now, not the police.”    Protesters, many wearing and waving the opposition’s colors of red and white, chanted “freedom” and “we will not forget, we will not forgive” as they walked in the Minsk city center.     Politician and representative of the Coordination Council for members of the Belarusian opposition Maria Kolesnikova attends a news conference in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 24, 2020.”Our resistance is a marathon, the regime cannot deal with this marathon, but we can. We have the will, strength and support of each other. We should all write, go out, speak out, stand up, complain, be uncooperative, boycott, not agree and keep it up!” said opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova.   The protests have been the biggest challenge yet to Lukashenko’s 26 year rule.  He was declared winner with of the August 9 election that was marred by allegations of fraud. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the opposition candidate who fled to Lithuania after the election and claimed to have won from 60 to 70% of the vote, said Saturday that Belarusians must “struggle for their rights” and not be distracted by Lukashenko’s claims that the country was under military threat.   Protesters briefly gathered near the president’s residence, before dispersing peacefully.    Belarusian state television showed Lukashenko flying over the protesters in a helicopter before landing at his residence and getting out in body armor with a rifle in his hand.    While state media reported about 20,000 protesters took part, opposition-leaning media put the estimate at nearly 100,000 protesters.      Lukashenko has called demonstrators “rats.”      Previously, he has used riot police to disperse rallies, but Reuters witnessed no clashes between police and protesters Sunday.      However, in the 15 days of protests, more than 7,000 people have been detained and hundreds beaten by police. Two people have been killed in the post-election protests in Belarus, it has been confirmed.FILE – Protesters carry a man wounded during clashes with police after the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 10.The EU and United States have criticized the vote and condemned the crackdown.      Thirty-one years ago, on August 23, 1989, an estimated two million people joined arms across the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in a protest against Soviet rule that became known as the “Baltic Way.” Protesters formed a 600-kilometer-long human chain from Vilnius, Lithuania, to the Belarusian border. Two years later, the Baltic states would achieve their freedom.      On Sunday, mass protests were held in Lithuania and Latvia, and were scheduled to occur in Estonia and Prague, as a show of support for Belarus across the Baltics.     People form a human chain to show support to protesters in Belarus in Medininkai, Lithuania, Aug. 23, 2020.Organizers in Lithuania Sunday estimated up to 50,000 people took part in their rally. In Latvia, hundreds marched along the Belarus border, the French news agency reported. Elsewhere, human chains were planned in Estonia and Prague.      Also, it was announced Saturday that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun will visit Lithuania and Russia for talks on the Belarusian post-election crisis.     Tsikhanouskaya’s team said Saturday that Biegun would meet the opposition candidate in Lithuania.       RFE/RL contributed to this report.     
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The German government says it believes that Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was possibly the target of a poison attack. Speaking to reports at a regular press conference on Monday, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said it is “fairly likely” that the Russian opposition politician was poisoned, adding that “because there is a certain probability of a poison attack,” personal protection of Navalny is “necessary.” Navalny, who was flying to Moscow from Siberia Thursday, fell ill during the flight, prompting the plane to make an emergency landing in Omsk, Siberia. His aide said Navalny had drunk black tea at an airport cafe.     Supporters of Navalny, a well-known critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, believe the tea was laced with poison.    Navalny’s wife and an associate visited him at Charite Hospital in Berlin on Sunday.  Yulia Navalnaya and the aide did not speak to reporters as they entered the German capital’s main hospital to see Navalny. He is in an induced coma and breathing with the aid of a ventilator.    An empty stretcher is moved back into an ambulance which is believed to have transported Alexei Navalny to the Charité Clinic for treatment, in Berlin, Germany, Aug.22, 2020.Navalnaya pushed to have her husband, 44, flown for treatment in Berlin. After his arrival Saturday, hospital spokeswoman Manuela Zingl said he would undergo extensive diagnostic tests and that doctors wouldn’t comment on his illness or treatment until they were able to evaluate the results.    On Saturday, Russian health authorities, who at first balked at allowing Navalny to be flown to Germany, said tests hadn’t shown any poisons in his system.    Before Friday’s decision to allow treatment in Germany, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated the government would help facilitate the move and wished Navalny a “speedy recovery.”      Peskov said the government would investigate the incident should toxicology reports show Navalny had been poisoned.        The case has attracted international attention.           German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed concern last week over Navalny’s condition.           U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also weighed in, saying Navalny’s “coma  after being poisoned” was “unacceptable.” Donald Trump continues to cozy up to Russia while Putin persecutes civil society and journalists. Now, opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in a coma after being poisoned. It’s unacceptable. Unlike Trump, I’ll defend our democratic values and stand up to autocrats like Putin. https://t.co/OLjoGDaG4f— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 21, 2020The U.S. Embassy in Moscow indicated it was monitoring the situation.          “If true, the suspected poisoning of Russian oppositionist Aleksey  #Navalny represents a grave moment for Russia, and the Russian people deserve to see all those involved held to account. Our thoughts are with his family,” said U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Ross in a tweet.         
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A lot of eyebrows were raised when Russia announced it was the first to approve a vaccine for the coronavirus, and even more so when Vietnam said it would buy up to 150 million doses.  Not many were expecting the news, but if it comes to pass, a few factors would explain how Vietnam and Russia got here. The two sides have a long history, from founding father Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary years in Moscow, to their membership in a modern trade deal. Vietnam has also been more aggressive than most other nations in tackling COVID-19, and it needs an affordable vaccine as the World Health Organization (WHO) warns rich nations against “vaccine nationalism” and hoarding.  The U.S., a key partner of Vietnam, has expressed doubt that Russia developed a vaccine so quickly. Other nations reportedly interested in the vaccine include the Philippines, Indonesia, India and South Korea. Cold War history Several nations have already put in pre-orders for other future vaccines, and there are more than 150 programs to research possible vaccines around the world, from silkworm cells in Japan, to new use of RNA instead of DNA in research. Russia announced this month it is in Phase 2 trial of a vaccine, which involves testing on hundreds of people, as opposed to tens of thousands in Phase 3. Vietnam could buy 50 million to 150 million doses by 2021, according to the state-run newspaper Tuoi Tre.  “A vaccine that has been used in a foreign country may not require any more tests when it’s imported to Vietnam,” Dr. Tran Dac Phu, an associate professor at the Vietnam Ministry of Health’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center, said on the national VTV station. “However, its trials must still be applied on humans to test its safety and effectiveness.” Russia’s relations have frayed elsewhere, from interference in the U.S. presidential election, to its annexation of Ukraine territory which prompted European Union sanctions. By contrast, feathers are mostly unruffled in Asia, especially in Vietnam, one of the world’s last remaining communist nations, which had strong ties to the old Soviet Union. In addition to Ho Chi Minh’s studies of Lenin, many prominent Vietnamese spent their formative years in Cold-War-era Russia before coming home to found companies, such as Vietjet Air. ‘Negligent’ behavior The Southeast Asian nation was already conducting its own vaccine research before the Russia announcement, one of many trials globally because scientists need to test on a diverse array of volunteers. However, the first viable vaccine is likely to come from a nation with many resources, leading to fears at the WHO and elsewhere that instead of cooperating, developed nations could put themselves first when a vaccine emerges.  Vietnam was also taking COVID-19 seriously before its peers, but the fight intensified in July when it reported its first ever death from the disease. It has now jumped on the possibility of a vaccine, following a pattern of attacking the pandemic aggressively. Still people need to keep taking safety measures and not pin all their hopes on a vaccine, said Vu Duc Dam, the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam who has been leading the pandemic efforts. “Because we controlled the disease well for a long time, people have become more negligent,” he said this month. “It’s time to remind ourselves that the pandemic is still going on and the vaccine will only be available to everyone in at least one year. We must strengthen measures to safely live together with the disease.” 
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The wife of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who is being treated for suspected poisoning at a Berlin hospital, visited her husband Sunday, according to the Associated Press.Yulia Navalnaya and an aide did not speak to reporters as they entered the German capital’s Charité hospital to see Navalny. He is in an induced coma and breathing with the aid of a ventilator.Navalny, who was flying to Moscow from Siberia Thursday, fell ill during the flight, prompting the plane to make an emergency landing in Omsk, in Siberia. His aide said Navalny had drunk black tea at an airport cafe.  Supporters of Navalny, a well-known critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, believe the tea was laced with poison.Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, speaks with the media outside a hospital, where Alexei receives medical treatment in Omsk, Russia, Aug. 21, 2020.Navalnaya pushed to have her husband, 44, flown for treatment in Berlin. After his arrival Saturday, hospital spokeswoman Manuela Zingl told AP he would undergo extensive diagnostic tests and that doctors wouldn’t comment on his illness or treatment until they were able to evaluate the results. AP’s report did not include a timeframe for that.On Saturday, Russian health authorities, who at first balked at allowing Navalny to be flown to Germany, said tests hadn’t shown any poisons in his system.Before Friday’s decision to allow treatment in Germany, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated the government would help facilitate the move and wished Navalny a “speedy recovery.”   Peskov said the government would investigate the incident should toxicology reports show Navalny had been poisoned.  The case has attracted international attention.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed concern last week over Navalny’s condition.U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also weighed in, saying Navalny’s “coma after being poisoned” was “unacceptable.”Donald Trump continues to cozy up to Russia while Putin persecutes civil society and journalists. Now, opposition leader Alexei Navalny is in a coma after being poisoned. It’s unacceptable. Unlike Trump, I’ll defend our democratic values and stand up to autocrats like Putin. https://t.co/OLjoGDaG4f— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 21, 2020The U.S. Embassy in Moscow indicated it was monitoring the situation.“If true, the suspected poisoning of Russian oppositionist Aleksey #Navalny represents a grave moment for Russia, and the Russian people deserve to see all those involved held to account. Our thoughts are with his family,” said U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Ross in a tweet.Charles Maynes in Moscow contributed to this report.
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Tens of thousands of people rallied in the Belarus capital Sunday and called for President Alexander Lukashenko to resign after disputed election results, a postelection crackdown, and a heavy military presence in the city.Protesters, many wearing and waving the opposition’s colors of red and white, chanted “freedom” and “we will not forget, we will not forgive” as they walked in the Minsk city center. They briefly gathered near the president’s residence before dispersing peacefully.People take photos sitting on the roof as Belarusian opposition supporters with a huge old Belarusian national flag march to Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 23, 2020.Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the opposition candidate who fled to Lithuania after the election and claimed to have won from 60 to 70% of the vote, said Saturday that Belarusians must “struggle for their rights” and not be distracted by Lukashenko’s claims that the country was under military threat.Also, it was announced Saturday that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun will visit Lithuania and Russia next week for talks on the Belarusian postelection crisis.Tsikhanouskaya’s team said Saturday that Biegun would meet the opposition candidate in Lithuania.RFE/RL contribute to this report.
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A former Soviet republic on the fault line between Russia and Europe is boiling with revolt this summer. Sounds familiar — but Belarus 2020 isn’t Ukraine 2014, and that’s why it’s hard to predict what will happen next. Here is a look at what’s different this time, and why it matters: No real leader The uprising in Belarus erupted last week in a democratic vacuum, in a country where challengers to President Alexander Lukashenko are jailed or exiled and where there is no experienced parliamentary opposition. So those at the forefront of Minsk protest marches have been ordinary Belarusians, instead of established political leaders like those who helped galvanize crowds and funding for Ukraine’s 2014 protest movement, centered around the Maidan independence square in Kyiv. In Belarus, “the absence of bright leaders undoubtedly weakens the protests … Leaders bring awareness,” independent political analyst Valery Karbalevich said. So Belarusian protesters formed a new Advisory Council this week to try to “offer the street a clear plan and agenda,” he said. However, opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova argues that the mass protests this month in Minsk, which came together in decentralized clusters via messaging app Telegram, show that Belarusians no longer need a vertical hierarchy telling them what to do. And a leaderless protest has one key advantage, she said: “It cannot be beheaded.” Orderly protests When unprecedented crowds of 200,000 people marched through the tidy, broad avenues of Minsk on Sunday, they came to a halt at red traffic lights, waiting obediently until they turned green. In Ukraine, by contrast, “protesters burned tires and threw Molotov cocktails,” said Syarzhuk Chyslau, leader of the Belarusian White Legion organization. That’s in part because the Minsk marches lack the kind of far-right and neo-Nazi militant groups that joined Ukraine’s uprising and fanned the violence. It’s also because Belarusians aren’t driven by the deep-seated anger at Russian influence that fueled Ukraine’s uprisings in 2004 and 2014, or Georgia’s ground-breaking Rose Revolution in 2003. While Ukraine has been geopolitically split between pro-West and pro-Russian camps since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Belarusians are broadly Moscow-friendly. Not a single European Union flag has appeared at the Minsk rallies, and the protesters aren’t pursuing NATO membership at the Kremlin’s expense; they just want to freely choose their own leader after an election they believe was stolen from them. Pavel Latushko, a former Lukashenko loyalist now on the protesters’ Advisory Council, hopes this could allow Belarusians to count on help from both Brussels and Moscow to settle the current tensions. “If the EU and Russia together acted as a mediator in resolving the Belarusian crisis, this would be an ideal option,” Latushko told The Associated Press. Economics While Ukraine’s protest movement built a huge tent camp in the center of Kyiv, complete with food delivery and security forces, the only perks for protesters in Belarus so far are bottles of water. “There are no oligarchs in Belarus who would give money for hot meals, medical treatment and tents. Even to pay police fines, Belarusian protesters collect money themselves,” analyst Alexander Klaskouski said. Unlike Ukraine’s largely privatized economy, Belarus’ economy remains 80% state-run, and little has evolved since the Soviet era. That makes it even more remarkable that workers at state-run factories have joined this week’s protests and strikes. “The structure of the economy allowed Ukrainians not to be afraid of the state, which in Belarus could throw any person out on the street with nothing at all,” said Klaskouski. The EU and U.S. also had economic interests in Ukraine before its 2014 uprising, but have only a marginal role in the largely closed-off Belarusian economy. Moscow’s role Given that, the Kremlin can’t easily portray Belarus’ protests as a Western-backed effort to sow chaos in its backyard the way it could in Ukraine. Russia used that argument to justify its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and backing for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine in a war that still simmers, six years on. But Russia’s role in Belarus is pivotal, as the country’s top trade partner and main military ally. So far, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear to Germany and France that they should steer clear of any interference, but hasn’t revealed how he wants to deal with the protesters or with Lukashenko, the only leader in the former Soviet space who’s been in power longer than Putin himself. Potential parallels Ukraine has been a cacophonous democracy for much of the 29 years since winning independence from the USSR, and Belarus is dubbed Europe’s last dictatorship — but they share some similarities. “Lukashenko made the same mistake as [former Ukrainian President Viktor] Yanukovych — he began to brutally beat peaceful protesters, which sparked a tsunami of popular protest, insulted dignity and triggered a revolution,” said analyst Vladimir Fesenko, director of the Penta Center in Kyiv. Belarusian economist Dmitry Rusakevich, 46, participated in the Kyiv protests on the Maidan, and now goes out to Minsk’s Independence Square every evening. “Maidan woke up Belarusians and showed that we need to fight for freedom,” he said. “It took the calm Belarusians a long time to muster the courage to say no to the dictator.” 
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