The illegitimate president of Belarus and henchman of the Russian dictator Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, is terrified of mass protests during the elections and is already threatening to completely shut down the Internet in the country.
Points of attention
- Lukashenko threatens to shut down the internet in Belarus to prevent mass protests during the upcoming presidential elections.
- The protests in Belarus after the 2020 election were the largest in the country's history, fueled by allegations of election falsification.
- Lukashenko blames neighboring countries, such as Ukraine, for inciting protests and draws parallels to the Ukrainian Maidan.
- The international community condemned the violent suppression of protests in Belarus, leading to widespread criticism of Lukashenko's regime.
- The upcoming 2025 presidential elections in Belarus raise concerns about potential internet shutdowns and restrictions on freedom of expression.
Lukashenko is afraid of mass protests during the elections
In January 2025, new presidential elections are scheduled in Belarus.
During a meeting at the Minsk State Linguistic University with students of several educational institutions, Lukashenko said that if mass protests are repeated in Belarus at this time, the Internet will be completely disconnected.
What do you think, I will watch and pray that you did not write to someone, if tomorrow there is no country, — he cynically stated and added that in 2020 the Internet was turned off because "then the conversation was about the fate of the country."
He also noted that the decision to turn off the Internet was made by him personally.
No one broke or beat anyone there, there was no need to beat or break anyone there. Belarusians are not such people. And I understood where everything was coming from. It all went through the Internet, first of all from Poland: the routes where we will go.", how will we go ... — declared the dictator, blaming Poland for mass protests in Belarus and mentioning the Ukrainian Maidan, which both he and Putin were terrified of. — I understood what we can come to than in Ukraine, it would be tougher.
Belarus presidential election in 2020
The protests in Belarus, which lasted from 2020 to 2021, became the largest in the history of the country. They started after the presidential election on August 9, 2020. According to official data, Lukashenko allegedly won more than 80% of the vote, but a large part of the population and the international community declared massive falsifications.
Lukashenka's key rival was Svitlana Tykhanovskaya, the wife of imprisoned blogger Serhiy Tykhanovsky. Her candidacy was a response to the ban on her husband running for office.
Protest actions were harshly suppressed by the security forces, which was accompanied by mass arrests, torture and numerous cases of violence. These actions drew sharp condemnation from the international community. Shortly after the protests began, Tykhanovskaya was forced to leave the country due to threats to her safety.
