DISINFO: West-funded pro-Nazi opposition in Belarus wants to cancel the Victory Day parade
SUMMARY
The Belarusian opposition initiated a petition to cancel the Victory Day military parade. This is a political tool financed by the West. It is not about the pandemic, it is about the opposition’s wish to cancel the Victory Day per se. If the authorities of Belarus cancel the parade, it will be the victory of the present-time Belarusian fascists over the president, Soviet soldiers, and Soviet past. Then some opposition-minded bloggers and activists may take on the streets with swastikas and Nazi emblems. The Victory Day military parade is not just a celebration, it is part of military training how to defend the people from aggressors who stand by our borders and organise NATO exercises.
RESPONSE
These are baseless claims intended to discredit the West, NATO, and the Belarusian opposition through baseless accusations of Nazi sympathies and mean intentions behind the cancellation or postponement of the Victory Day military parade. This story is consistent with pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the West's continuous attempts to undermine Belarusian society through a subservient Belarusian opposition and Western-funded NGOs. In late March 2020 an online petition was created asking Belarus's ministries of health and defence to cancel the Victory Day military parade to mitigate the coronavirus epidemic and to finance hospitals instead. Over 7,000 citizens signed the petition by March 31. The ministry of defence's response read that the epidemiological situation allows for organising the parade. The WHO recommended the authorities of Belarus cancel the parade and expressed concern about the organisation of the parade amid the epidemic. NATO did not have any attack plans against Belarus as alleged. NATO’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg affirmed that Defender Europe 2020 was not directed against any particular country. Its purpose was to practice the rapid deployment of large-scale forces across the Atlantic into Europe, demonstrating the US military’s ability to quickly send a massive contingent to support NATO and respond to any crisis. In response to the current outbreak of the COVID-19 virus and guidance by the United States Secretary of Defence, the exercise was modified in size and scope. Read our past analysis "Pro-Kremlin News Front Praising Hitler" to learn more on how the terms “Fascism” and “Nazism” in the current pro-Kremlin political terminology are used to undermine those who are critical of Russian policies or the Kremlin. Accusations of fascism are often a telltale indicator of disinformation. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that the coronavirus epidemic prevented NATO deadly attack against Belarus, that Belarusian opposition, civic activists and independent journalists make kill lists for Western security bodies, that the West finances Belarusian opposition and NGOs to disrupt Belarus-Russia relations, and that it promotes propaganda of feminine men in Belarus.