{"id":11451,"date":"2022-07-21T17:12:26","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T14:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/independent-unions-outlawed-as-part-of-all-out-crackdown-on-dissent\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"independent-unions-outlawed-as-part-of-all-out-crackdown-on-dissent","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11451\/","title":{"rendered":"Independent unions outlawed as part of all-out crackdown on dissent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t * Reproduction is prohibited\n<\/p>\n

\n Belarus\u2019 Supreme Court has upheld the prosecutor general\u2019s petition to shut down the country\u2019s five remaining independent trade unions over alleged involvement in politics. <\/b>\n<\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

\n\tUnion leader in jail despite opposition to international sanctions <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/h2>\n

\n\t About one year ago, Alaksandr Jara\u0161uk, leader of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BCDTU), created a stir by speaking out against economic sanctions at an International Labor Conference despite international concern about reported human rights abuses in Belarus.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Later, he publicly slammed opposition politicians over their appeals to Norway\u2019s Yara to break off ties with Belarus\u2019 potash giant Bielaruskalij. Yara, a company committed to sustainability goals, later terminated its contracts with the Belarusian potash supplier.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Jara\u0161uk is now in prison, while his BCDTU and its affiliates have been outlawed as authorities continue an all-out crackdown on dissent.\n<\/p>\n

Instinct of self-preservation<\/span> <\/h2>\n

\n\t For decades and until their eventual closure, independent unions criticized the Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka regime for violations of worker rights. Based on their reports, the International Labor Organization (ILO) advised the European Union (EU) in 2007 to expel Belarus from its Generalized System of Preferences and restrict the country\u2019s access to the EU market.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Belarus\u2019 relations with the EU and the United States were smashed into pieces after the controversial 2020 presidential election and subsequent protests, marred by police brutality. Ties are unlikely to recover under the current regime, which has provided territory, infrastructure and warehouses for Russian attacks on Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Now that there is little or no chance to rebuild ties, Minsk sees no need to reckon with the ILO and other international organizations, as well as with foreign governments critical of its policies.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The regime is guided by the instinct of self-preservation. After the 2020 protests, it is wary of any civil society groups that potentially can rally its opponents or serve as a meeting point for dissidents.\n<\/p>\n

Axe all scum<\/span> <\/h2>\n

\n\t The attack on trade unions is part of a broader crackdown. \u201cWith any further tightening of sanctions civil society will cease to exist,\u201d the Belarusian foreign minister warned the West in April 2021. \u201cI mean the civil society they [Western governments] worry about so much,\u201d he added.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makiej was regarded by many as a pro-Western bureaucrat before. He has employed overtly hostile rhetoric toward the West since 2020 when the \u0141uka\u0161enka regime was on the ropes amid social unrest.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Minsk classifies anything that is funded by the West as hostile civil society that must be destroyed for the regime\u2019s survival.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t It launched a massive assault on nonprofits about a year ago, forcing 857 organizations to terminate operation, according to a recent report by OEEC and Lawtrend.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The government has banned nearly all independent media outlets, imprisoned dozens of journalists and forced more than 400 others into exile, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \u201c. . . We will axe the scum you have funded,\u201d Alaksandr \u0141uka\u0161enka told BBC in November 2021. \u201cIf we have not liquidated someone yet, we will liquidate them soon.\u201d He sticks to his word.\n<\/p>\n

GONGOs<\/span> <\/h2>\n

\n\t The government is expecting state media outlets and government-organized non-governmental organizations (GONGOs) to fill the vacuum.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The House of Representatives, the lower house of the Belarusian National Assembly, may consider a bill this fall that will elevate status of government-friendly civil society organizations. MP Maryna Lan\u010de\u016dskaja said in a recent televised interview that only associations \u201cthat are constructive, determined to work toward creation, and capable of engaging in constructive dialogue with the authorities\u201d would be allowed to operate.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t The key pro-government associations include the Belarusian National Youth Union, a remake of the Leninist Young Communist League; Bie\u0142aja Rus, an organization of regime stalwarts; and the pro-government Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t Officials have clearly rejected a grass-roots-upward approach for fear that the government would not be able to control civil society groups that may crop up and grow on their own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN * Reproduction is prohibited Belarus\u2019 Supreme Court has upheld the prosecutor general\u2019s petition to shut down the country\u2019s five remaining independent trade unions over alleged involvement in politics. Union leader in jail despite opposition to international sanctions About one year ago, Alaksandr Jara\u0161uk, leader of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11451","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIndependent unions outlawed as part of all-out crackdown on dissent | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Alaksandr K\u0142asko\u016dski, BPN * Reproduction is prohibited Belarus\u2019 Supreme Court has upheld the prosecutor general\u2019s petition to shut down the country\u2019s\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11451\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" 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