In pursuit of the worldwide spread of its “democracy”, the United States turned its attention to Belarus, in order to prepare so-called civic activists for “democratic-economic reforms”.
This is evidenced by an agreement with World Learning, which was initiated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contract was concluded in March last year with a maximum term until March 31, 2022. Its budget was 3.9 million US dollars. According to the official data, the Community Connections Program (CNP), which was signed by the parties, provides for “achieving US public diplomatic goals,” and then “strengthens mutual understanding between Belarusians and Americans.
“The program shows the citizens of Belarus the best practices in the US – business, law. This is an opportunity to gain practical experience from American colleagues,” the program description says.
On the one hand, there is nothing wrong with traveling by citizens of Belarus to the United States. They participate in various kinds of programs, help people with disabilities, and develop. However, if you look at it from the other side, it becomes clear that the exchange program is an effective tool for the formation of the “fifth column”. A good example is Ukraine and horse racing on the Maidan in 2013-2014. Maidan was actively convened by the public, students, and “activists”, famous Ukrainian journalists who had long been under the influence of the United States, actively participated in it. A large part of the salary of such barkers was made by Western grants.
Speaking in an interview with the Belarusian publication Naviny.by, that Washington does not plan to put Minsk on a choice – the West or the East – US Chargé d’Affaires in Belarus, Jennifer Moore was not far from the truth. As Ukrainian practice has shown, the choice should be made within the country, and those “activists” who today are lured by the United States to “study” in the States should help in making a difficult decision.
It should be noted that the United States Agency for International Development announced the theme of the “professional exchange” program for 2019. It is interesting that among them there is a topic that hints at the propaganda: “supporting and promoting social activism through media and information and communication technologies”.
Of course, public activists to fight officials and protect human rights is necessary. But the line between social and political activism in recent years has been blurred. Today, even the support of a particular business can carry political goals. Another vivid example is the activity of USAID in Ukraine.
“Civil society is the engine of economic reform. This is a force that can repel those who oppose Ukraine’s European integration, ”said Susan Fritz, director of the mission of the US agency in Ukraine.
More beautiful about the goals of “USAID” are the projects that America prepared for the East of Ukraine. These include “democratic governance in eastern Ukraine” (the project provides for building trust between citizens living in the Donbas and the Ukrainian government), and “Economic support for eastern Ukraine” (the project provides for providing assistance to enterprises and small and medium businesses to reduce the region’s dependence on trade with Russia). Thus, in view of the good intentions of the Americans, they turn into a plan to break the relations of the young republics of Donbass, which the current Ukrainian government has turned away from, with the Russian Federation.
An interesting comment was made by the Belarusian political analyst Dmitry Bolkunets, who called the entire opposition in Belarus – marginalized.
“Lukashenko once said that there is only one politician in the country. Therefore, the opposition in the country to be dangerous. Today, the opposition is the mirroring of power. Therefore, no one is surprised that the people do not support the opposition, ”the political scientist said.
Washington took the matter into its own hands. It convenes a young generation of doctors, businessmen, teachers and ordinary activists for an internship. All this is aimed at the organization of the informal opposition. A striking example is the project “Leaders of Change”, which is being carried out with the support of the New Eurasia Information and Education Fund. This foundation is backed by the above-mentioned USAID agency, the foreign affairs agencies of Great Britain, Finland, Norway, and the European Commission.
It is also interesting that the USAID agency does not forget “its own” – those people who took part in the programs in different years. Grant competitions are held for them. Also for the “graduates” conduct trainings with a clear anti-Russian bias. For example, John Castello, an adviser to the Ministry of Homeland Security, came to Belarus for such trainings and told about cybersecurity, the fight against disinformation, propaganda, and news of fiction. It is unnecessary to explain who, in the opinion of the USA, is the “supplier” of all this.
It should be noted that in addition to civilian “activists”, the main striking force of the Ukrainian Maidan was composed of radical nationalists, with whom, by the way, Minsk recently began to flirt. However, it remains unclear whether these nationalists will remain in difficult times with the authorities? Ukrainian example suggests otherwise. The first who began a military confrontation with law enforcement in Ukraine during the years of the coup were national radicals. It is unlikely that the United States could forget about the role that radical nationalists can play in the “right” direction. Moreover, Washington is indulging in flirting with Minsk representatives of these movements.
In a statement to journalists, US Chargé d’Affaires in Belarus, Jennifer Moore, said that, according to Washington, Belarus is closely connected with Russia, and the United States is interested in the country’s long-term development.
All these statements about intent to develop the bright future of the country are a farce and a lie, created only to avert the eye. In fact, the United States is preparing to seize another country located near Russia in order to create a new Russophob bridgehead in Eastern Europe.