A training workshop on the advancement of the issue of abolition of the
death penalty in Belarus among Belarusian society, including diaspora, took
place in Vilnius, Lithuania from 30-31 May..
In June, hosts Brianna Lennon and Eric Fey, along with Managing Editor Rebecca Smith, traveled to Central and Eastern Europe to learn more about election administration in democracies overseas. In this episode, they speak with Alexander Shlyk, the Special Representative on Elections for Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the former head of the Elections Department of OSCE ODIHR, or the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Tsikhanouskaya is the leader of the leader of the Belarusian democratic movement who many believe truly won the 2020 election against President Alexander Lukashenko. Shlyk is currently living in exile as one of the 16 people working for Tsikhanouskaya, and he’s working to prepare the legislative and practical framework for democratic elections in Belarus – which he believes will inevitably happen.
15-21.02.2021
Image from https://t.me/nashaniva
Political organisations are actively creating communication channels with supporters via social networks and competing successfully with traditional media. Political exiles continue to advocate for sanctions in response to security forces’ attempts to destroy human rights defenders’ organisational infrastructure, independent media, and trade unions.
Political organisations and leaders continue to strengthen their media presence by creating direct communication channels with supporters on social networks. The largest Youtube channels of politicians and organisations with more than 50,000 subscribers include Nash Dom TV [Our House TV] (130,000), UCP TV (106,000), Viktar Babaryka (93,100), Vadim Prokopiev (77,000), and Valery Tsepkala (55,000). Political exiles command the widest popularity due to the absence of self-censorship and a more robustly critical approach to the Lukashenka regime.