DISINFO: Protests in Belarus occured because Lukashenko was playing with the West
SUMMARY
The attempted coup d’etat in Minsk occurred due to the desire of the Belarusian establishment to develop cooperation with Western countries and to make concessions to them. In Belarus, the Maidan is doomed to failure, because citizens see what happened to Ukraine and do not want a repeat of its fate.
RESPONSE
The recurring pro-Kremlin propaganda narratives about Western attempts to organise a colour revolution in Belarus. The reelection of Alexander Lukashenko for a sixth consecutive term as President of Belarus - the only president the country has ever had - has been met with large protests in the country, and scepticism about the fairness of the election at home and abroad.
The main opposition to Lukashenko, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has fled to Lithuania. Her husband, who was also a former presidential candidate standing against Lukashenko, is currently in detention in Belarus.
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement “the people of Belarus deserve better”, and have demonstrated a desire for change. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that the Belarusian opposition, civic activists and independent journalists make kill lists for Western security bodies, that the pro-Western Belarusian opposition prepares 'kill lists' and genocide, the US global “Anaconda” strategy is to limit the living space of geopolitical opponents, and that the West's objective is to encircle Russia entirely thanks to the "Anaconda ring" and "Great Turan" doctrines.