Panel 1
Belarus after four months of protest movement: how to overcome the political impasse
About Panel 1
Four months after mass protests broke out in reaction to the falsified presidential election, the situation in Belarus appears to be in a stalemate: The democracy movement insists on its demands for new, free and fair elections, an end to violence, and the release of political prisoners. Millions of people in the country support this, and civil society continues to organize itself with great energy into ever new, creative and decentralized forms. Lukashenka, on the other hand, keeps himself in power with the help of his security apparatus and backing from Moscow, refusing real dialogue, let alone to tender his resignation. Both sides see themselves in the majority and demonize each other. International mediation involving neighbors from the East and West, for example through the OSCE, is demanded by some and rejected by others. At the same time, trust between Russia and the West is at a new low.
What characterizes the current situation and the interests of the actors involved? What solutions do representatives of the democracy movement, analysts and activists see? What role do the Belarusian population and civil society play in the capital and countryside? These are the questions that we want to discuss on this Panel.
About Panel 1
Four months after mass protests broke out in reaction to the falsified presidential election, the situation in Belarus appears to be in a stalemate: The democracy movement insists on its demands for new, free and fair elections, an end to violence, and the release of political prisoners. Millions of people in the country support this, and civil society continues to organize itself with great energy into ever new, creative and decentralized forms. Lukashenka, on the other hand, keeps himself in power with the help of his security apparatus and backing from Moscow, refusing real dialogue, let alone to tender his resignation. Both sides see themselves in the majority and demonize each other. International mediation involving neighbors from the East and West, for example through the OSCE, is demanded by some and rejected by others. At the same time, trust between Russia and the West is at a new low.
What characterizes the current situation and the interests of the actors involved? What solutions do representatives of the democracy movement, analysts and activists see? What role do the Belarusian population and civil society play in the capital and countryside? These are the questions that we want to discuss on this Panel.
Moderator
Jakob Wöllenstein
Head of the Belarus Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Speakers
Pavel Latushka
Former Minister of Culture of the Republic of Belarus, member of the Presidium of the Coordinating Council and Head of National Anti-Crisis Management
Valery Karbalevich
Political scientist in the analysis centre “Strategija”
Pavel Latushka
Former Minister of Culture of the Republic of Belarus, member of the Presidium of the Coordinating Council and Head of National Anti-Crisis Management
Aksana Shelest
Aksana Shelest in an analyst at the Centre for European Transformation and holds a PhD in sociology. She studied at the Belarusian State University, Department of Sociology, and completed her postgraduate studies at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. She worked at the Institute of Sociology until 2007 and is currently an expert for an analytical group at the Agency of Humanitarian Technologies. Her areas of interest include methodology and methods of research in sociology, public opinion as a social institution, civil society, and social innovation.
Dzmitry Bandarchuk
Co-founder of the citizens’ committee in Hrodna
Andrey Karpeka
Urbanist, Minsk Urban Platform
Vadim Mojeiko
Mojeiko is a political analyst and consultant. He holds a PhD in Cultural Studies and an MA in Management. He works as an analyst at the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies. He is Ambassador of the Press Club Belarus community. His research interests include political transformations, soft power, the media sphere, and public administration.