Belarus - The African Mirror

May

2021

Belarus leader says detained journalist was plotting ‘bloody rebellion’

TOM BALMFORTH and MARIA KESELYOVA BELARUSIAN President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed that a journalist pulled off a plane that was forced to land in Minsk had been plotting a rebellion, and he accused the West of waging a hybrid war against him. In his first public remarks since a Belarusian warplane intercepted a Ryanair flight on Sunday between European Union members Greece and Lithuania, he showed no hint of backing down from a confrontation with countries that accuse him of air piracy. "As we predicted, our ill-wishers from outside the country and from inside the country changed their methods of…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Belarus faces sanctions over ‘state piracy’, airlines to shun it

WORLD

GABRIELA BACZYNSKA and MATTHIAS WILLIAMS SEVERAL airlines have said they would avoid Belarusian airspace after Belarus scrambled a warplane to intercept a Ryanair jetliner and arrest a dissident journalist in an act denounced by Western powers as "state piracy". European Union leaders were set to ban Belarussian airlines from their bloc's airspace and call on EU-based carriers to avoid flying over the former Soviet republic, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters. The leaders of the 27 member states will also consider widening the list of Belarussian individuals they already sanction and call on the International Civil Aviation Organization…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

From Belarus to Bangkok, women took to streets demanding change in 2020

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

BEH LIH YI FROM Belarus to Nigeria to Thailand, women played a prominent role in protest movements this year, driven by increasing frustration over the slow pace of political change and inequalities deepened by COVID-19. Whether seeking an end to authoritarian rule or speaking up about police brutality and abortion restrictions, women took to the streets during headline-grabbing demonstrations that sometimes turned violent. "Women always react when things appear to be going out of control, so they are taking to the streets," said Aysha Renna, 23, a student who organised protests in India against a citizenship law seen by many…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Hope is thin as LGBT+ activists join Belarus protests for change

LGBT+

NATALIE VIKHROV LGBT+ activists in Belarus hope mass protests for democratic rule in Belarus will also help deliver long-awaited gay rights and rid the former Soviet state of homophobia. But they concede such hopes might be far off in their deeply conservative country, with no anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBT+ people. Even some of their fellow protesters are homophobic, they say, expecting a long fight before glimpsing equality. President Alexander Lukashenko was sworn in for a sixth term at a secret ceremony on Wednesday, sparking new demonstrations by a restive population protesting his claim on power. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Belarusian protesters, defying army, flood Minsk

WORLD

TENS of thousands of protesters demanding Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko step down defied a warning from the military and flooded into Minsk, briefly gathering near the president's residence, before dispersing peacefully. The veteran leader denounced the demonstrators as "rats" and was seen in state media footage wearing body armour and holding a rifle, projecting an unyielding image amid the huge nationwide demonstrations that erupted after a disputed election on August 9. The protests have provided the biggest challenge yet to Lukashenko's 26 years at the helm and tested the loyalty of his security forces. Minsk's streets turned red and white…