DISINFO: Belarusian opposition preparing a coup with US military assistance
SUMMARY
Belarusian opposition leader Andrei Sannikau works for the CIA and RAND to destabilise Belarus with a “European Belarus” civic campaign. During his recent visit to the RAND Corporation, Sannikau spoke about the need to stage a coup in Belarus with US military assistance. The US actors ordered Sannikau to ignite a war in Belarus similar to the war in Donbas. The US sees Belarus as a springboard for military actions against Russia and is ready to pay well for it. Andrei Sannikau made a promise to the US to organise this springboard on the condition that the US military would support a coup in Belarus. Sannikau is getting ready for the 2020 presidential campaign under the secret name “It is time to change peaceful times”.
RESPONSE
This is a collection of conspiracies and ungrounded claims aimed to discredit the US and the West, Andrei Sannikau, and the democratic Belarusian opposition. This disinformation message is a modification of a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Western attempts to organise a colour revolution in Belarus and to disrupt Belarusian-Russian relations. Andrei Sannikau is a Belarusian politician and activist. He was a candidate at the 2010 presidential election in Belarus and had the second highest percentage of the popular votes after incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka. On 14 May 2011, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment on charges of organising mass disturbances. He was released and pardoned by Lukashenka on 14 April 2012. Amnesty International labelled him a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release. Sannikau indeed recently took part in a seminar organised by the RAND Corporation and spoke about it in an interview. However, the allegations of his statements contained in the disinformation message are groundless and provide no proof whatsoever. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that the Belarusian opposition, civic activists and independent journalists make kill lists for Western security bodies, that Russia saved Belarus from Western bombing like in Yugoslavia, that Poland plans to take over Minsk after extensive subversive activities in Belarus, and that the West's only interest in Belarus is to make it anti-Russian.