How Europe Can Help Belarus Through Its 1989 Moment
Europe can do more harm than good in Belarus, where Russia is still on the sidelines. Support is required, but circumspection is, too.
Swelling protests turn peaceful.
Photographer: Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images
After 26 years at the helm, Alexander Lukashenko’s days are numbered. European prudence can help accelerate his demise.
Protests of unprecedented scale have filled the streets of Belarus since its president claimed an implausible landslide re-election just over a week ago. A brutal crackdown, mass arrests and savage beatings followed, angering even those previously indifferent. Yet in the past few days, security forces have largely stood aside, as they did on Sunday when huge crowds again demonstrated in the capital and beyond. Strikes have been spreading, too, with growing numbers of workers walking out last week even at crown-jewel state enterprises such as Minsk Tractor Works and government television.