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Disinfo: The tweet of the US embassy is a clear intervention in the internal affairs of Belarus and a call for colour revolution

Summary

The tweet of the US embassy is a clear intervention in the internal affairs of Belarus and a call for a colour revolution.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the Western attempts to organise a colour revolution in Belarus. Two Facebook posts by the U.S. Embassy in Minsk were shown. None are calling for colour revolutions. The first post is about the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1951, that prohibited U.S. Presidents from serving more than two terms. The second post is about the right of the people to assemble peacefully. On 3 June, Brussels, Washington and London issued a joint statement calling for free and fair elections in the country, emphasising “that no politically motivated restrictive measures should prevent potential candidates from fulfilling the registration procedure.” “Media freedom and the right of peaceful assembly are essential to legitimate elections,” the diplomatic missions said the same week that a visa facilitation agreement entered into force between Belarus and the EU. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that the Belarusian opposition, civic activists and independent journalists make kill lists for Western security bodies, that the pro-Western Belarusian opposition prepares 'kill lists' and genocide, the US global “Anaconda” strategy is to limit the living space of geopolitical opponents, and that the West's objective is to encircle Russia entirely thanks to the "Anaconda ring" and "Great Turan" doctrines.

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60 minut @Rossiya 1 - YouTube
  • Reported in: Issue 207
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 04/08/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US, Belarus
  • Keywords: Twitter, Colour revolutions
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Baltic countries interpret their status in the USSR as an occupation, ignoring that their Parliaments chose it

80 years ago the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania proclaimed the creation of their respective Soviet Socialist Republics. Today, those countries interpret their status inside the USSR as an occupation, but for many people, at that time the Union was real salvation from the Nazis. Experts in the Baltic countries tend to read the integration of these nations in the USSR in 1940 as some kind of intervention of Soviet forces in the internal affairs of those countries. However, most of them ignore or don’t consider the events that led to this scenario.

Aug 03, 2020
Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States. On 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a non-aggression (Molotov-Ribbentrop) pact whose secret protocols divided the territories belonging to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Romania into Soviet and Nazi spheres of influence. Soviet occupation of the Baltic States lasted for 50 years and resulted in mass deportations and repressions against local populations. On 24 December 1989, the Parliament of the USSR, the Congress of the People’s Deputies, adopted a resolution, acknowledging the annexation of the Baltic states as a violation of the USSR's obligations. See other examples of disinformation narratives on the Baltic States, such as claims such as the “myth of Soviet occupation”; that Russian-speaking communities there are as discriminated as African Americans; that NATO wants to turn the Baltic countries into an empty field against Russia, and the US will betray and hand them over to Russia; that Lithuania is a hostage of US interests, Latvia is a US vassal state and Estonian foreign policy is controlled by Washington; or that the Pentagon is working out a biological war strategy in the Baltics.

Europe has forbidden Ukraine to save its industry

The European Union prevents the Ukrainian government in every possible way from taking production out of a difficult situation. Europe has forbidden Ukraine to save its industry.

Aug 03, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on EU-Ukraine relations. Ukraine is a priority partner for the European Union (EU). The EU supports Ukraine in ensuring a stable, prosperous and democratic future for its citizens and is unwavering in its support for Ukraine’s independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty. The Association Agreement (AA), including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) signed in 2014, is the main tool for bringing Ukraine and the EU closer together, promoting deeper political ties, stronger economic links and respect for common values. Ukraine continues an ambitious reform programme to accelerate economic growth and improve the livelihoods of its citizens. To assist Ukraine in this endeavour, the EU and European Financial Institutions have mobilised over €15 billion in grants and loans since 2014 to stabilise Ukraine’s economy, to support comprehensive reforms and to help improve the lives of its citizens. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU has mobilised a €190 million support package for Ukraine. In July 2020, the EU also provided €105 million to Ukraine to support small and medium enterprises, small farms and reforms implementation. The EU also encourages investments in other sectors of Ukrainian economy. See other disinformation cases in our database relating to the statehood of Ukraine: that the West controls Ukrainian economy and pumps out its resources, that the EU Association Agreement made Ukraine a colony of the EU, that Ukraine is a fake country and Ukrainian ideology was created to split the Russian nation, and that Ukraine is a collapsing, degrading state with no sovereignty and rule of law.

Only 10% of Belarussians oppose the union with Russia

Only 10% of Belarussians don’t support (oppose) the union with Russia.

Aug 03, 2020
Disproof

A nationwide representative poll, which was conducted in December 2019 and published in February this year by the Belarusian Analytical Workshop (BAW), shows that in Belarus the number of supporters of the union with Russia in Belarus decreased from 60.4% to 40.4% during 2019. At the same time, BAW records an increase in pro-European sympathy over the same period from 24.4 to 32 percent. The poll was conducted against the backdrop of protests against Belarusian-Russian integration. 1061 people were interviewed. Replying to a question “In what union of states would it be better for the people of Belarus to live in – the EU or Russia?”, 40,4 of respondents favored the union with Russia, and 32% – the EU.