Belarus Protest

Over these last several weeks, there has been protest movements in Belarus regarding the policies that have affected people socially, economically and politically.

I have had the fortune to have contact with many of these protesters marching in the streets of Minsk, Homel, Brest and other cities around Belarus.

Many of the protesters are decent friendly people who wish to see a democratic Belarus that is self-independent.

This protest is different to the other previous protest in the sense that there are more people now opposing President Lukashenko who has been dictating Belarus for the last 23 years.

He has encouraged people in Belarus to resettle in these no-go-zone areas that have been affected by Chernobyl. They still have the KGB police force and have previously cracked down on peaceful protesters.

Many of the protesters don’t want Belarus to be aligned with Russia. They want Belarus to be more politically, socially and economically align with Lithuania, Poland, the EU and the West. These were the same political demands that were seen in Ukraine several years ago.

The problems that are occurring right now in Eastern Europe shows that the EU has been kind of an obsolete organisation because it has failed to address many problems in bringing stability, peace and prosperity.

The EU failed to resolve the problems in Bosnia, it failed to integrate all of Eastern Europe into the EU and even failed to address the current refugee crisis.  

There was a time when the EU could have gotten all of Eastern Europe into the EU. They could have integrated Belarus, Moldova and even Ukraine into the EU, they had the opportunity.  

After the fall of the Soviet Union, many people in Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine and the Baltic States envision that they would eventually join the EU in the foreseeable future. And they still have this belief.

I had the opportunity to have visited Belarus before Lukashenko became president. There were protests and marches, people demanding Belarus should be closely aligned with the EU and resolve its economic problems.

Unfortunately, the EU failed to provide the economic, humanitarian and environmental aid (Ex: Chernobyl radiation effects) needed for the people of Eastern Europe. They lost the opportunity.

Despite the EU failure in assisting the people in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, many people in these areas still support integrating into the EU and being closely aligned with the West.

This coming March 25, there will be a huge demonstration in Minsk in which the protesters will speak out against Lukashenko's policies that are undemocratic and unpopular.

They will be speaking out on how Belarus should be more democratic, closely align with the West and promote positive reforms that benefit the public politically, socially and economically.