Aleksandr Lukasjenko governs Belarus with authoritarian methods. The opposition wants democracy, but as long as Lukasjenko sits in power, there will be no stability and peace in Eastern Europe, says opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaja.
Without (Russia's Vladimir) Putin, Lukasjenko would not be able to hold on to power, and for Putin, Lukasjenko is a loyal and cheap ally in the region, she says to TT during a visit to Sweden.
The visit took place on Tuesday, and she, as often, brought with her the portrait of her then-imprisoned husband Sergej Tichanovskij. She took on his role as opposition leader after he was imprisoned in connection with the rigged election in 2020. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Tichanovskaja went into exile with her children.
Husband released
A few days after the visit to Stockholm, news came from Minsk that Sergej Tichanovskij, Swedish Halina Krasnjanskaja, and twelve other political prisoners were released. Svetlana and Sergej could be together again, now in Lithuania, where he was taken.
The decision was made after the American President Donald Trump's envoy Keith Kellogg had visited Minsk.
The political implications in Belarus were not clear, nor what the release means for dictator Aleksandr Lukasjenko. He has held on to power for over 30 years and in the latest Belarusian so-called election last winter, he is said to have received over 86 percent of the votes. Independent observers have declared the election invalid.
"Driving force for dictators"
But Lukasjenko remains in power. And the war in Ukraine has become an economic upswing for him, notes Tichanovskaja. At the same time, the outside world wants peace. Among other things, the US President Donald Trump has tried to persuade Russia and Ukraine to reach a peace agreement, but it is important to ask what the cost of peace will be, says Svetlana Tichanovskaja.
Are we ready to sacrifice Ukrainian land and send a clear signal to Putin that you can cut through Ukraine like a cake, or should we give him Belarus as a gift?
She reminds us of how unlikely the full-scale war in Ukraine seemed before Russia invaded the neighboring country. Now she has lived in Lithuania for several years and feels the fears there.
The question is whether Europe can withstand attacks. It's not just about tanks, it's about drones and information. Europe must stick together to meet this, she says.
Kristin Groth/TT
Facts: Belarus
TT
Belarus is barely half the size of Sweden. The area of 207,600 square kilometers makes the country the 13th largest in Europe. The population is slightly smaller than Sweden's, 9.3 million.
A century ago, Belarus became part of the Soviet Union, and even after independence in the early 1990s, the country has remained closely tied to the powerful neighboring country Russia.
The country is governed by the authoritarian Aleksandr Lukasjenko. He won the presidential election in 1994 and has since strengthened his power to the point where he has been referred to as "Europe's last dictator".
When Russia began its attempt to invade Ukraine at the beginning of last year, the forces also departed from Belarus, which has a long border with Ukraine.
Belarus continues to play an important supporting role in the Russian warfare, and the Western world's sanctions have also included Belarus.
