DISINFO: Pratasevich’s testimonies will open the truth about Polish interference in the Belarusian affairs
SUMMARY
Nobody in Poland will say that the struggle of the Belarusian authorities with these “media” [NEXTA Telegram channel] is not a fight with “independent journalism”, but with the criminals calling for aggressive actions against state employees and their families. Every country would defend itself from such a threat. Officially, these media are purely Belarusian initiatives and Poland only “gives shelter to the persecuted”. Soon, we will find out the truth from the testimonies of Pratasevich.
So far, Poland is sticking to the claim that “we do not interfere in the Belarusian affairs”, despite the fact that we keep trying to “elect” the Belarusian authorities and finance the Belsat TV, which plays a role of the anti-Government propaganda. What would happen if Belarus established a Polish-speaking anti-Government station?
RESPONSE
Disinformation targeting Belarusian dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich and alleged attempts of Poland to interfere in domestic affairs of Belarus.
The claim that the NEXTA Telegram channel is “extremist” or “terrorist” is ungrounded – during recent months, this media has been one of the most popular sources of objective news for Belarusian society. It is the main reason for the harsh political persecution of the founders of this channel from the side of the Belarusian authorities. 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. The Belsat TV station is focused on the spread of objective news about the situation in Belarus and it is not involved in “anti-governmental propaganda”.
Raman Pratasevich co-founded the opposition NEXTA Telegram channel, which played an important role in providing information and broadcasting huge opposition protests against the incumbent Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenka in 2020.
Pratasevich fled Belarus for Poland in 2019 due to pressure from the authorities. He later relocated to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, where Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is also based.
Raman Pratasevich was detained in Minsk airport when flying from Athens to Vilnius. On Sunday, 23 May 2021, the Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to turn back before crossing the Lithuanian border and land in the Belarusian capital. The pretext for landing in Minsk was a false report about the bomb on board. At the moment when the plane changed course, it was closer to Vilnius airport than to Minsk. The plane was forced by a Belarusian military aircraft to land in Minsk. Raman Pratasevich was detained during a repeated security check of passengers.
The EU condemned Belarusian action against civil plane and the detention of Pratasevich. In a declaration on behalf of the EU on the forced diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 to Minsk on 23 May 2021, the High Representative called for the immediate release of Mr Pratasevich. This was followed by a European Council statement, in which the EU leaders called for targeted individual and economic sanctions as well as to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines and prevent access to EU airports of flights operated by these.
See earlier disinformation claims alleging that NEXTA is the Polish provocative Telegram channel and that NEXTA covering the Belarus protests is a project of the Polish special services.