As every cloud has a silver lining, the current situation in Belarus is no exception. Admittedly, this is hard to prove, but four recent events may have cause for some restrained optimism.
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Belarus Jails 2 Journalists for Covering Protests
After crushing mass demonstrations calling for his ouster, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko has engaged in a broad crackdown on dissent and stepped up retaliation against critics.
A demonstration in Minsk, Belarus, in August calling for the ouster of President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko.Credit.Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
Feb. 18, 2021
MOSCOW In a ruling that reflected the broader crackdown on dissent by President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, a court in Belarus on Thursday sentenced two young journalists to two years in prison for reporting from a demonstration against his rule.
A district court in the capital, Minsk, ruled that the journalists Catarina Andreeva, 27, and Darja Chulcova, 23 incited unrest by reporting for the Polish television channel Belsat through a video stream from a protest rally.
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Organisers: the weekly analytical monitoring Belarus in Focus in partnership with Press Club Belarus, the Belarusian expert community “Nashe mnenie” and the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS).
Background: the political situation in Belarus in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential campaign is changing rapidly. The support for the political alternative in Belarus is stronger than ever in modern history. Electoral gains coupled with mass public protests across the country have never gone so far since Belarus gained her independence. Today’s open questions include:
What Belarusian society has recently achieved?
What are the most likely scenarios for further developments in Belarus?