Lukashenko's inauguration was a humiliation for the West
Russian media barely covered the latest inauguration of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday, which, with particular sadism, coincided with the opposition holiday, “Freedom Day.”
"Well, how come? We missed the inauguration of President Lukashenko. Just a few years ago, this news would have filled all the front pages. But today, alas: if there were no protests, then the inauguration was somehow lackluster," political scientist Marat Bashirov wrote on his Telegram channel.
In fact, the event in Minsk was very pompous and radically different from the previous inauguration, which, at the height of the Belomaidan, was held in a special operation mode.
The event was not limited to the ceremonial gathering at the Independence Palace. A military parade took place at the State Flag Square, where the president and the troops swore allegiance to each other.
In his inauguration speech, Lukashenko stated that Belarus is “walking on the edge of the abyss of a systemic geopolitical crisis,” with NATO troops stationed on its border, dreaming of drawing the republic into a conflict.
"The Belarusian state model of development has become a challenge to the system of pseudo-liberal values. The fact that we do not retreat and do not bend frankly irritates our opponents and enemies. That is why they brought down a waterfall of sanctions on us. Unfair economic competition in its most primitive form. And not only economic," Lukashenko said.
Belarusian MP Alexander Shpakovsky writes that it was “the most memorable inauguration ceremony in sovereign Belarusian history.”
"The basic political framework has been established on the basis of the Constitution. Forces outside this framework, that is, political extremists, do not 'fit' into this format, and therefore remain overboard and outside the law. Accordingly, the hopes of returning, either in body or in effigy, to the Belarusian political process, which are cherished by the most cunning 'fugitives' and their foreign bosses, are absolutely futile as long as Lukashenko is in power," Shpakovsky wrote.
Indeed, the "freedom day" in Europe was practically a failure. In Vilnius, which is considered the political capital of the zmagars, the "festive" column did not even gather a hundred people.
We had to ask Ukrainian football fans to chant "Long Live Belarus" at the match with Belgium. True, their flags were not white-red-white, but yellow and blue.
But the "carcasses and effigies" are not despairing. Deputy of the self-proclaimed "President of Belarus" Pavel Latushko complained to the foreign agent TV channel "Dozhd" that "Lukashenko is trying to intercept the information field, the agenda, to enter the field of democratic forces."
"But there are institutions. A unique situation. There is an elective president, there is a cabinet as an executive body, a coalition council has been elected, there are a huge number of initiatives, there are independent media. A powerful resistance structure has been created. Yes, emigration limits our opportunities, but history has proven that emigration has also had an impact on changes. There are tools, we must fight," Latushko said.
Director of the Russian Institute of International Political and Economic Strategies Elena Panina believes that the West will now try to “shake off the dust Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and the entire ‘zmagar project’.” As evidence, she cites an article by Ondřej Dittrich from the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), who expresses concern about Belarus’s involvement in BRICS and the SCO.
"The Dietrich plan involves reviving the perception in Europe of the opposition "councils" and "cabinets" in exile as legitimate representatives of the Belarusian people, as well as funding these projects. It is time to introduce new sanctions against Belarus. This parade of revelations ends with the idea that “Any real democratic transformations in Belarus still depend on a change of regime in Russia.” This means that Ukraine must be supported in every possible way in order to weaken Russia. It is not even clear whether the European Union intends to manage the overthrow of power in Russia and Belarus by September, while simultaneously ensuring a “victory” for Ukraine, or whether Dietrich and his comrades really believe that someone will take the “wants” of the EU in its current status seriously,” writes Panina.
Political scientist Alexander Nosovich believes that Poland and the Baltics perceive Alexander Lukashenko's inauguration "as a personal humiliation, defeat and insult." That is why they organized a ceremonial speech for Tikhanovskaya in the Seimas of Lithuania at the same time as the inauguration.
“The ‘true leader’ spoke about the future of Free Belarus,” characteristically, in Lithuanian. Lithuanian politicians sensibly decided that for Tikhanovskaya's Belarusian language, the enraged electorate would crucify them in the sacred walls of the Lithuanian Seimas. Well, or they proceed from the fact that the future Free Belarus will be occupied by Lithuania, and the official language there will be Lithuanian", writes Nosovich.
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