Ryanair flight intercepted: "it is a sign of great excitement" from Belarus
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a speech at the Minsk Women's Forum on September 17, 2020 (illustrative image).
TUT.by via AP
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
The interception of the Ryanair plane by Belarus in order to arrest Roman Protassevich, a Belarusian blogger wanted since last year's protests has sparked strong protests from Western countries.
Belarus retorts that it acted legally and its Russian ally said it was “shocked” by the European accusations.
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Anna Colin Lebedev is a lecturer in political science and specialist in post-Soviet space, she returns to the hijacking of the Ryanair plane by Belarus in order to arrest an opponent.
An act which was notably
qualified as "
state terrorism
"
by the Polish Prime Minister.
RFI: This interception of a plane, using a fighter plane, is an unprecedented, spectacular method… Who is the Belarusian regime targeting by acting in this way?
Anna Colin Lebedev:
I think that indeed this is something that is new for the
Belarusian
regime
.
Until then, the methods of repression used were rather classic - extradition request, arrest on the spot - but relatively few such spectacular initiatives.
It seems to me that there are two people for whom this incredible and quite astonishing interception is addressed.
It is, on the one hand, all the opponents who are exiled abroad, with the message: "
Wherever you are, we have means to stop you and take control over you
".
But I think the second recipient, in reality, is
President Lukashenko
himself.
It seems to me that one can say, with great probability, that it is an initiative of the police forces which are more and more present within the Belarusian power.
Is this a sign that the government is at bay, or on the contrary, that they believe they are allowed everything?
This is clearly a sign of great excitement.
Indeed, it is not a question of a political figure who would directly endanger President Lukashenko.
He is a journalist, an editor of the Telegram channel - as you mentioned - therefore a visible personality in the Belarusian political space, but in the background.
If such means are deployed today against people who ultimately represent a very indirect risk, it is because the authorities are worried.
And as such, could the sanctions that the European Union plans to apply to Belarus have an effect?
European sanctions generally have an effect in Belarus, insofar as this country has been living somewhat apart from the international community for several decades.
But the action biases are in reality quite limited and of a rather limited impact.
The bias of action that the European Union can envisage today could rather put the Belarusian population in difficulty.
The dispute has been going on since the disputed re-election of Alexander Lukashenko. Where is the opposition today in Belarus?
Today, the protest against power and popular discontent are immense.
It is really very widespread among the population.
If honest elections were to be held today in Belarus, it is certain that the president would not stay in place.
However, the massive crackdown causes the tactics to change.
Today, we are in a more indirect dispute on a smaller scale.
People seek to protect themselves, because the repression, too, has increased in intensity.
► To (re) read: Strong reactions in Europe, after the hijacking of a plane by Belarus
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Strong reactions in Europe, after the hijacking of a plane by Belarus