DISINFO: Poland co-organised a coup against Lukashenka
SUMMARY
President Lukashenka, rejected by Poland and Europe, was deprived of geopolitical manoeuvre. It was not he who has chosen Moscow and the idea to build the identity of his nation on the sentiment towards the Soviet Union. Poland chose those things for him with its everlasting ostracism, the Belsat TV and the silent support for the opposition. Recently, Poland has been directly involved in the co-organisation of a coup that was supposed to overthrow Lukashenka and Poland deliberately admits it by hosting in Poland the delinquents such as Pratasivich or celebrating Tsikhanouskaya. Thus, those persons who keep looking everywhere for the Kremlin's agents pushed Belarus into the fraternal embrace of Moscow.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Western attempts to organise a colour revolution in Belarus – Poland is presented here as a country with hostile and aggressive plans towards Belarus.
The claims that Poland was involved in the anti-Lukashenka coup” or it has some aggressive geopolitical plans towards this country are unfounded. Poland is a neighbour of Belarus and it continues to support the Belarusian people. Poland respects the principles of international law and does not intervene in the domestic affairs of any country.
Following the presidential elections in Belarus in August 2020, which were widely perceived as rigged by large parts of society, protests erupted in the country. On 19 August 2020, the European Council called the Belarus elections neither free nor fair and on 2 October 2020, the Council imposed restrictive measures against 40 individuals identified as responsible for repression and intimidation against peaceful demonstrators, opposition members, and journalists, as well as for misconduct of the electoral process. The Council added 15 members of the Belarusian authorities, including Alyskandr Lukashenka, as well as his son and National Security Adviser Viktor Lukashenka, to the list of sanctions, on 6 November 2020.
On 21 June 2021, the EU adopted the fourth package of sanctions. The goal of these sanctions is to put pressure on the Belarusian political leadership to initiate a genuine and inclusive national dialogue with broader society and to avoid further repression.
See similar pro-Kremlin disinformation messages - Poland presented a plan of active interference in the domestic affairs of Belarus, Poland and Lithuania directly sponsor open extremist actions against Belarus, and the CIA will try to repeat a Maidan scenario in Belarus.