Former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya appealed to the US Senate to pass as soon as possible a bill that would give the US President additional powers to impose sanctions against official Minsk
An English-language article containing this appeal, with Tihanovskaya as the author, was published in The Washington Post.
“I urge the U.S. Congress to approve the 2020 Draft Law on Democracy, Human Rights and Sovereignty in Belarus as soon as possible. This law will broaden the range of persons against whom sanctions may be imposed under US law for involvement in repressions. At the same time, it will provide support for independent media, as well as technology to overcome government censorship”, – writes Tikhanovskaya.
She also thanked “the European Union and the United States for their active moral and technical support”, making special mention of the Trump administration and the State Department.
“We appreciate the efforts of the current American administration, which recently extended sanctions against Belarusian officials responsible for undermining the democratic processes in our country. On behalf of myself, I would like to express my gratitude to Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Bigan for meeting with me and stating my firm intention to help the democratic movement of Belarus”, – the article says.
Sanctionary foundation
It should be reminded that on November 18 the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill “On democracy, human rights and sovereignty in Belarus 2020”. It proposes to empower the President to impose restrictions on members of the Election Commission of Belarus and officials considered by Washington to be involved in pressure on the media. The bill also expands the possibilities of rendering assistance to Belarus and supporting political refugees.
Thus, if this document is adopted by the Senate and signed by the US President, the Head of the White House will be able to impose visa restrictions on members of the CEC of Belarus, officials, officials of the Union State, whom Washington considers involved in human rights violations.
We would like to remind you that the presidential election was held in Belarus on August 9, where, according to the CEC of the Republic, Alexander Lukashenko won with 80.1% of the votes. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received 10.1% of support. After the vote, mass protests began in the country, and the Belarusian opposition refused to recognise the election results, accusing the authorities of falsifying the results.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya later left Belarus and is now in Lithuania, where she is making statements as the leader of the opposition and also holding meetings with European politicians. The opposition created a coordinating council for the transfer of power.
The EU and the USA have already introduced targeted restrictive measures against Belarusian officials and Alexander Lukashenko himself, but economic sanctions or embargoes have not yet come to pass.
At the same time, Tikhanovskaya has repeatedly appealed to Western politicians with proposals to tighten sanctions against Minsk, extending them to the economy.
Thus, in mid-November, at a meeting with the leadership of Latvia, she called on the National Bank to stop cooperation with the state “Belarusbank” and “Belagroprombank”, and the President – to introduce restrictive measures against a number of Belarusian state enterprises and revise contracts for the purchase of oil and metal products, wood and wood processing industry products, as well as alcohol.
Then Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said that she is seeking to impose additional sanctions against the country’s leadership, and is also discussing the possibility of disconnecting Belarus from the international banking system of settlements SWIFT.
In an effort to obtain through the U.S. a tool such as personal sanctions, Tikhanovskaya intends to become an influential figure, increasing its role in the political process, said in a conversation with RT Deputy Director of the Institute of Strategic Studies and Forecasts of PFUR Pavel Feldman.
“She is trying to hurt her own state and its political elite by the hands of the American authorities, to settle accounts with her opponents. Besides, the opposition tries to make the situation in the country worse by such initiatives, so that in the conditions of social and economic instability provoked by the US sanctions, to raise people’s anger and on this wave to try again to come to power”, – Feldman explained.
Opaque hints
It is worth noting that in a publication in The Washington Post, Tikhanovskaya mentioned Russia, which, in her words, provides official Minsk with “critical” support.
“While our uprising is not directed against any other country, the Kremlin offers Lukashenko critical support in the form of security assistance, significant financial assistance, as well as propagandists who spread propaganda on state television in Belarus”, – the article says.
It should be reminded that on 26 November, against the background of a visit to Minsk by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the leader of the Belarusian opposition said that any official agreements concluded under the leadership of Alexander Lukashenko will be reviewed by the new authorities of the country.
“Whatever Alexander Lukashenko agreed upon, he has lost the support of the Belarusian people. It means that all his transactions and agreements will be reviewed and cancelled by the new government”, – said Tikhanovskaya.
She stressed that she was “in favour of friendly and partnership relations with Russia,” but that “the independence and sovereignty of Belarus cannot be bargained.
Pavel Feldman admits that the Belarusian events may well become a pretext for further sanctions against Moscow if the new US president decides to show support to the opposition.
“If Biden goes for it and recognizes Lukashenko as a certain usurper of state power, it is quite possible that the restrictions will be applied to Russia as a country that recognized Lukashenko and provided him with material and informational support”, – Feldman says.
In turn, commenting on Tikhanovskaya’s appeal to American senators, Andrey Sidorov, Head of the Department of International Organizations and World Political Processes of the Department of World Policy at Moscow State University, noted that such appeals are quite typical for liberal oppositionists in different countries.
“Tikhanovskaya now goes the way of Russian oppositionists who appeal to the United States, because they consider them the most consistent critics of the current Russian authorities and those who are close to Russia in the post-Soviet space, including Lukashenko and his government,” – explained the expert.
Alexander Karpov, Alyona Medvedeva, RT