Opinion | Belarus deserves democracy and freedom. Nothing less. - The Washington Post

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For most of his quarter-century as the bullying boss of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko has wielded a heavy hand, then offered just enough leniency to disarm his critics. He has seesawed between the West and Russia, and between dictatorship and soft authoritarianism. The tactic was on display again last week when the European Union, United States and Canada announced coordinated sanctions in response to the brazen kidnapping of opposition journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega. After punishing weeks of incarceration, Mr. Lukashenko on Friday released them to house arrest. This time he must be told: No more games.

Mr. Protasevich and Ms. Sapega were aboard Ryanair Flight 4978 en route to Vilnius on May 23 when the plane was diverted to Minsk with a phony bomb threat from Belarusian air traffic control. After this brazen violation of international aviation rules, the pair was arrested on dubious charges of organizing mass unrest. What clearly infuriated Mr. Lukashenko was that Mr. Protasevich co-founded and edited Nexta, a Telegram channel that widely disseminated reports of huge protests against the regime. Mr. Lukashenko’s theft of the August 2020 election from opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has triggered months of street demonstrations. He responded with brute force, arresting demonstrators and keeping hundreds of them behind bars for months, where some have reported beatings and torture.

Among the political prisoners is Ms. Tikhanovskaya’s husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, who had earlier sought to run for president. He was put on trial last week. Mr. Protasevich was paraded on Belarus state-owned television June 3, where he said he pleaded guilty to organizing mass unrest. His family said the confession was under duress, and noted bruises on his wrists. The case is reminiscent of the public confessions once extracted in the days of Stalin and Mao. As Ms. Tikhanovskaya put it, the transfer from prison to house arrest “does not mean freedom, they are still facing charges. Their every step is being watched by wardens. And this means they are still hostages.”

The European Union’s new round of sanctions is the toughest yet, aimed at 78 individuals, but also at economic sectors to crimp the cash that keeps Mr. Lukashenko in power. Brussels has barred sale or supply of key technology to Belarus, as well as restricted access to capital markets and trade in oil and potash. Mr. Lukashenko will turn to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a bailout. But the E.U. measures have made it more difficult: They sanction one of Mr. Lukashenko’s friends, the Russian businessman Mikhail Gutseriev, who is building a $2 billion potash mining and processing plant that is the largest investment in Belarus. The United States simultaneously imposed visa bans and other sanctions on 62 additional individuals who were identified as contributing to the Belarus crackdown, including Mr. Lukashenko’s press secretary. The sectoral sanctions are more properly coming from Europe because that is where Belarus has greater economic ties. From both sides of the Atlantic, Mr. Lukashenko must get the message: Belarus deserves free and fair elections and freedom for all political prisoners. Nothing less.

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