West Tightens Sanctions On Belarus
According to RFE/RL, The United States, Britain, and Canada have announced new trade and financial sanctions on Belarus on the first anniversary of a presidential election that extended Alyaksandr Lukashenka's decades-long rule and sparked an unprecedented wave of protests amid allegations the vote was rigged.
Lukashenka, in power since 1994, reacted to the protests by unleashing a brutal crackdown. More than 32,000 people have been detained, thousands beaten by police on the streets and in detention, with torture alleged in many cases.
Opposition leaders have been locked up or forced to flee, including Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who left for Lithuania a day after the vote that supporters say she actually won.
Since then, Lukashenka, his inner circle, and Belarusian firms have been hit with several rounds of sanctions by the United States, European Union, Canada, and Britain, among others, leaving the Belarusian strongman internationally isolated, dependent more than ever on Russian support.
Among those entities targeted in the fresh U.S. sanctions was Belaruskali, the Belarusian potash producer, a major source of income for the Lukashenka regime, the White House announced.
Also targeted was Belarus's International Olympic Committee, "for its failure to protect Belarusian athletes from political discrimination and repression."
This comes after Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya refused to board a flight home during the Olympics after she was taken to the airport against her wishes. She has since sought refugee status in Poland.
"It is the responsibility of all those who care about human rights, free and fair elections, and freedom of expression to stand against this oppression," Biden said in a statement. "The United States will continue to stand up for human rights and free expression, while holding the Lukashenka regime accountable, in concert with our allies and partners."
On Twitter, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said, "The United States is demonstrating its commitment to holding the Lukashenka regime to account on the anniversary of Belarus's fraudulent election."
Prominent businesspeople who support the Lukashenka regime as well as 15 companies with which they are affiliated -- including Absolutbank, a private Belarusian bank -- were also blacklisted by the Biden administration, as well as entities that operate in the tobacco-products, construction, energy, and transportation sectors of the Belarusian economy.
