On 9 August, Belarusians took to the polls in their country’s presidential election. Aliaksandr Lukashenka, the five-term president, claimed a landslide victory, but there is compelling evidence that the vote was rigged. For the past week, citizens have protested against Lukashenka’s government and the election results. These protests have led to a troubling police crackdown, which has itself prompted greater numbers of people to protest. At least two protestors have been killed, a national general strike has been called, and the country is facing its largest demonstrations in over a quarter of a century. Meanwhile, there are growing concerns that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin may attempt to intervene in his western neighbour in order to take advantage of the situation for his own purposes.
To discuss the situation in Belarus, the Henry Jackson Society is delighted to invite you to a webinar featuring: Nigel Gould-Davis (International Institute of Strategic Studies, and former UK Ambassador to Belarus); Natalia Kaliada (Belarus Free Theatre); Bill Browder (Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign); and, a representative of the Belarus-based International Strategic Action Network for Security (iSANS). The panellists will discuss the likely outcome of the protests, whether the protests can bring about a democratic transition, and what the West could (and should) do to both support the protestors and hold Lukashenka’s regime to account for its actions.
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