Belarus at the crossroads

The winds of change are blowing in Belarus, whether current president Alexander Lukashenko wants it or not.

Belarus is known as ‘Europe’s last dictatorship’, and for the past 26 years Lukashenko has treated it as his own private marching grounds.

Last Sunday, citizens of Belarus cast their ballots in the hopes that their vote would help the country move forward. In what is now being recognised as a sham election, Lukashenko claimed an improbable landslide victory over his opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

Risking their lives and livelihoods, thousands have taken to the streets across the country to tell the government they will not stand another stolen election.

The government has responded with unprecedented brutality, mass detentions, including of journalists, and even torture, violently suppressing protesters’ rights and freedoms.

In this critical moment, Transparency International is calling on the international community to come together and step up support to the people of Belarus through all diplomatic and political means available.

One way to do so is through targeted sanctions against the regime’s representatives who have committed unprecedented violence against the people.

We also want to express our unequivocal solidarity with the courageous people of Belarus.

Viral videos show workers striking in protest, former officers throwing away their uniforms to condemn violence by security forces, and people exchanging flowers in solidarity with one another.

People of Belarus have spoken. Their peaceful resistance is already changing the history of their country.