A meeting of the 27 EU foreign ministers on Aug. 14 issued a statement that they consider the Belarus elections as having been “neither free nor fair” and that the “results to have been falsified.” They then called on Belarusian authorities to accept an EU proposal to support establishing a dialogue between the political authorities, opposition and broader society. The High Representative for foreign policy Josep Borrell will begin work on the proposal immediately. The issue will be taken up at the foreign ministers’ informal meeting in Berlin on Aug. 27-28.
Accusations of human rights abuse are being made by the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Belarus Anais Marin, who happens to be a fellow at the Royal Institute for International Affairs/Chatham House in London. A French citizen, she joined the Chatham House Russia and Eurasia program as an associate fellow in December 2019. In 2018 she was appointed UN special rapporteur on human rights in Belarus.
Meanwhile, Lukashenko’s rival in the presidential elections, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who cobbled together 10% of the vote, and, proclaiming she had won the election, fled to Lithuania, whence she announced the initiation of the Coordination Council for transfer of power. This council would include members of civil society, famous Belarusians and true professionals of their trades. She called on the government to cooperate.
