ILO Can Wipe Lukashenka Out

It's time to set tough demands on the dictator.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) finally remembered about the Belarusians. Only, unfortunately, instead of a clear and targeted blow to Lukashenka, here comes again a warning and recommendations to immediately release and drop all charges against members of independent trade unions. Otherwise, at the conference in March 2023, sanctions against Belarus will be considered.

Of course, the fact that the Belarusian workers issue is again on the agenda in such a large-scale organization as the ILO says that they have not forgotten about us, but it is worth remembering that such warnings to the Lukashenka regime have been flying in the air for the third year already. Meanwhile, our colleagues are forced to sit behind bars in anticipation of the next conference, where they will express “deep concern” over the problem of Belarus.

Violations of labor rights of workers did not begin yesterday or even in 2020. For many years, Lukashism has been ignoring the rights of workers in all spheres, while destroying the few associations that defended these rights. The Belarusian people have become, perhaps, the only one on the whole planet who tirelessly asks for sanctions against the dictatorship in our country. Thousands of letters from independent organizations, hundreds of facts of human rights violations, a huge number of political prisoners and ongoing repressions, a terrorist hijacking of an airplane, full complicity in a war against a peaceful country — is this not enough to wipe out the Lukashenka regime?

Members of the International Labor Organization should also reconsider the terms they place on a dictator. At a time when there are thousands of political prisoners in our country, according to the ILO, only 23 members of trade unions have been arrested or restricted in their freedom in Belarus. The ILO must take into account not only members of trade unions, but thousands of political prisoners, among whom the majority are working people. To exchange 23 people for the lifting of sanctions is the dictator's favorite thing, which he does after each of his political defeats.

It's time to stop living in illusions. As long as Lukashenka is in power, the repressions will not stop. It is necessary to put more stringent conditions on him — the release of all political prisoners and the peaceful transfer of power. Otherwise, the history of the exchange will repeat itself, and the cannibal will simply find new victims.

The price of the ILO's silence is no longer just prison terms for the brave workers who openly resisted the regime. Now these are the lives of Ukrainians. While the next conference is expected, the dictator has turned Belarus into a springboard for attacking Ukrainian civilian targets with Russian missiles. The longer this silence lasts, the more Lukashenka will get involved in this war. Therefore, it is time to act decisively.

The sanctions imposed in 2021 are working in the face of economic pressure on Lukashenka, who rigged the election results. But the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine has made its own adjustments, which must now be taken into account. Now Belarus is an occupied territory that needs to be liberated. The maximum tightening of sanctions against the regime is necessary, as well as the introduction of secondary sanctions against states that contribute to circumventing them. This will be a colossal contribution both to solving the problem of the Belarusians and to the speedy victory of Ukraine.

Artsiom Chernikau, especially for the «Basta!» Telegram channel