DISINFO: The West betrayed Lukashenka, as it always does with rulers who become too friendly with it
SUMMARY
Belarusian president Alyaksandar Lukashenka forgot the fate of the rulers that tried to get close and please Washington and Brussels, seduced by their promises of “disinterested” help. It seems that the experience of Muammar Khaddafi, murdered in 2011, or Saddam Hussein, hanged in 2006, taught nothing to Lukashenko, who started to be too friendly to the West, trying to balance NATO and Moscow, even denouncing its “big brother”, Russia. Then, Washington’s strategists decided that it was time for the president of Belarus to leave.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the West, portrayed as an aggressive entity always conspiring to overthrow governments and which can never be trusted, especially if getting close to Western capitals means leaving Moscow’s orbit. No evidence is being provided to support the claim. This is part of an ongoing Russian disinformation campaign on post-electoral events in Belarus, framing popular protests against the election result as caused by foreign interference through a ‘colour revolution’. See other examples in our database, such as claims that the EU reaction to Lukashenko’s victory is an example of Western double standards; that the same lack of democracy and repression is present in EU countries that criticize them in Minsk; that the arrest of Russian mercenaries in Belarus was a Ukrainian provocation, and the Ukrainian secret services may have planned terrorist attacks in Belarusian territory; that the West wants to prepare another Maidan in the country; or that Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians are one single nation. This disinformation message appeared in the same article as the claims that “Belarusian opposition is guided from a psy-op centre in Poland under NATO and CIA control” and “Foreign TV stations instigated violence in Belarus, advising provokers on how to attack policemen.”