President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, National Security Advisor Sullivan, and the U.S. Treasury were busy yesterday slapping new sanctions on 44 Belarus individuals and state-owned companies, for alleged violations of “democracy,” punishments imposed on the first anniversary of the flop of their favored candidate, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, in the Belarus presidential elections. The UK and Canada joined the U.S. in imposing similar measures yesterday, which Blinken welcomed, as he also praised the administration’s “close coordination with Lithuania and Poland” in “Holding the Lukashenko Regime to Account on the Anniversary of the Fraudulent Presidential Belarusian Election.”
President Biden stated that more sanctions are required, because, “as I told the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, we stand with the people of Belarus as they bravely pursue their democratic aspirations,” while the White House cited an Executive Order dating back to President George W. Bush, an EO from 2006 named “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Undermining Democratic Processes or Institutions in Belarus,” as their legal basis!
It was the European People’s Party (EPP) faction in the European Parliament which openly named where this coordinated, international operation is heading: the creation of a bloody “Maidan” coup in Belarus. The leaders of the EPP faction issued a statement on the election “anniversary” urging the European Union to adopt a “master plan” to kick off a “democratic revolution” against the Lukashenko government, based on its experience in dealing with Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova.
“The European Union must prepare for the victory of the democratic revolution,” they say, and that means more than money for the Belarus opposition. “It will require a comprehensive masterplan to support the adoption of democratic reforms on all levels of government, national, regional and local, which have to go hand in hand with deep economic reforms. This will necessitate substantial technical assistance, manpower and patience on the side of the international community. The European Union is well equipped thanks to the experience accumulated with the transitions in Central and Eastern European, and Western Balkan countries, and most recently in the three Eastern Partnership association countries” –that is, in Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova.
