{"id":11366,"date":"2022-03-04T06:13:47","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T03:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/longreads\/attack-on-ukraine-turns-belarus-referendum-into-farce\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:29:13","slug":"attack-on-ukraine-turns-belarus-referendum-into-farce","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/11366\/","title":{"rendered":"Attack on Ukraine turns Belarus\u2019 referendum into farce"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n <span>By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n <b>Belarus held a constitutional referendum on February 27 amid growing public discontent with the country\u2019s involvement in Russia\u2019s military campaign against Ukraine. The Belarusian leader cannot control Russian generals who attack Ukraine from the Belarusian territory. <\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p> <b> <\/b><\/p>\n<p>\n\t The draft constitution received approval of 65.16 percent of those who voted, said the central election commission and reported turnout of 78.63 percent.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The numbers cannot be verified. The vote count was absolutely non-transparent, election commissions were formed of officials loyal to Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka, and independent observers were banished from polling stations.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t About 51 percent of Belarusians living in cites and towns intended to vote in February, found a poll by Chatham House.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>No positive effect on legitimacy<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t Aliaksandr Luka\u0161enka failed in his effort to bolster his legitimacy in the eyes of Belarusians through the constitutional referendum.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Only 16 percent of respondents had confidence in the central election commission, according to the Chatham House\u2019s poll conducted in November 2021.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Belarus\u2019 involvement in Russia\u2019s military campaign in Ukraine has further damaged Luka\u0161enka\u2019s reputation. The Belarusian ruler admitted on February 27 that some missiles had been launched from the Belarusian territory. He also said that Russian troops based on the Belarusian soil had taken part in the attack on Ukraine. But he noted that he had learned about it from the media.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t The statements prove that Russia may be using Belarus at a staging ground for attacks without even asking Minsk for permission.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t About 800 Belarusians were arrested in Minsk on February 27 during anti-war protests, said the Belarusian interior ministry. The Viasna human rights group reported at least 530 arrests.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In Minsk, protesters gathered outside the headquarters of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces. Drivers in the area honked their horns to support demonstrators.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Police arrested anti-war protesters in Baranavi\u010dy, Babruisk, Brest, Vitsiebsk, Homiel, Hrodna, Dok\u0161ycy, \u017dlobin, \u017dodzina, Zasla\u016dl, Minsk, Mahilio\u016d, Navapolack, Astraviec, Pinsk, Polack, Svietlahorsk, Sluck and Smarho\u0144.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t In the Chatham House\u2019s February survey, 56 percent of Belarusians said that Belarus should stay neutral, 58 percent said that Belarus should not send its troops to Ukraine and 57 percent described the war as a catastrophe for Belarus. Only 13 percent said that Belarus should send troops to back Russia in Ukraine.\n<\/p>\n<h2> <span>Support for aggression affected Luka\u0161enka\u2019s ratings<\/span> <\/h2>\n<p>\n\t \u201cMilitary operations [in Ukraine] are likely to politicize society,\u201d said Ryhor Astapienia, of Chatham House. He noted that Belarusians\u2019 political views \u201chave not changed\u201d since 2020 post-election protests. Opponents have been intimidated and disappointed by the defeat of the protest campaign. But, he said, more Belarusians were following the independent media after tension between Russia and Ukraine began to climb.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t \u201cLuka\u0161enka\u2019s narrative was built around peace and stability. It has all now dissipated, and Luka\u0161enka\u2019s policy is also to blame for it,\u201d he told BPN. Astapienia noted that some of Luka\u0161enka stalwarts, who had accounted for about one third of Belarusians, seem to be turning their backs on him.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t \u201cHe has cultivated an image of a neutral and sovereign ruler for many years,\u201d but voters see now that this is not true, Astapienia said. He added that Belarus\u2019 role in the aggression will take a heavy toll on Luka\u0161enka\u2019s ratings.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t By supporting the invasion, Luka\u0161enka goes contrary to the will of most Belarusians, including many of his supporters, said Juryj Drakachrust, a political analyst. He goes against Belarusian archetypes, such as \u201cdo anything to avoid a war,\u201d he added.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Luka\u0161enka is perceived as Russia\u2019s satellite, and even peace talks in Belarus cannot change that perception, Drakachrust said.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t Ironically, Belarus\u2019 draft constitution contains the clause, \u201cThe Republic of Belarus rules out military aggression from its territory against other states.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\t &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN Belarus held a constitutional referendum on February 27 amid growing public discontent with the country\u2019s involvement in Russia\u2019s military campaign against Ukraine. The Belarusian leader cannot control Russian generals who attack Ukraine from the Belarusian territory. The draft constitution received approval of 65.16 percent of those who voted, said the central [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"template":"","rubric":[22],"class_list":["post-11366","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Attack on Ukraine turns Belarus\u2019 referendum into farce | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Aliaksandr Klasko\u016dski, BPN Belarus held a constitutional referendum on February 27 amid growing public discontent with the country\u2019s involvement in\" \/>\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\/11366\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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