Tens of thousands flooded the Belarus capital as election protests grow
(AP | Reuters)
“Demonstrators have swarmed the streets ever since Sunday’s election in which officials reported that Lukashenko won 80% of the vote to win a sixth term in office.”
https://apnews.com/2654151658e4a01e36248a71a3911324
—
Women in Belarus take protests into their own hands
(The Guardian)
“We can only help ourselves …”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/14/women-belarus-take-protests-into-their-own-hands
- “Baltic-Nordic foreign ministers issue joint statement regarding Belarus.” - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
 |
| Photo: © AP / Scanpix |
- “Belarus Factory Workers Hold Mass Walkouts to Back Opposition.” - The Moscow Times
__________
Friday 14. August
__________
Kaljulaid Leedus: ühise energialeppeni jõudmine eeldab kompromisse
(Pealinn)
“Balti riigid, kes seni on kuulunud BRELL-i elektrivõrku koos Venemaa ja Valgevenega, on otsustanud aastaks 2025 sünkroniseerida oma võrgusagedused Lääne-Euroopa elektrivõrkudega.”
Meedialiit: taunime valitsusliikmete poolt ajakirjanike ja väljaannete ignoreerimist
(Õhtuleht)
“Meedialiit väljendab oma kirjas muret Eesti Vabariigi valitsuses tekkinud olukorra pärast, kus ministrid ei vasta pressikonverentsile akrediteeritud ajakirjanike küsimustele (Delfi ja rahandusminister Martin Helme näide), suhtuvad ajakirjanikesse ja kirjastustesse arrogantselt ning levitavad isikliku poliitilise kasu nimel valet.”
Border crossings at Narva have decreased by 95 %
(ERR)
"In the middle of summer last year, around 10,000 people a day crossed the border at Narva, right now that number is around 450."
https://news.err.ee/1124074/border-crossings-at-narva-have-decreased-by-95-percent
The ‘Three Seas Initiative’ is central to Central Europe’s recovery
(Politico-Europe)
“The transatlantic community needs a plan to restore growth to our economies and to do so in ways that leverage our strengths, the most important of which in this case is the power of our private sectors. A key element of that transatlantic economic recovery plan should be the Three Seas Initiative, an effort to accelerate the development of cross-border energy, transportation and digital infrastructure in the region between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/three-seas-central-to-central-europes-recovery/
Donald Trump muretseb Eesti nakatumiste tõusu pärast
(Delfi)
Russia’s Baltic Fleet plans large-scale drills in westernmost Kaliningrad Region 24.-28. August
(TASS - Pro-Kremlin)
"The army corps’ main forces have already been moved to the Pravdinsky training ground for tactical battle drills …”
https://tass.com/defense/1187775
__________
Thursday 13. August
__________
Kaljulaid: Belarusian elections can't be considered as free nor fair
(Baltic Times)
“… and she expressed regret that the path taken by Belarus is drawing the country farther from Europe.”
https://www.baltictimes.com/estonian_president__belarusian_elections_can_t_be_considered_free__fair/
Estonia leads EU foreign ministers' call for resolute response on Belarus
(ERR)
“Over 7,000 protesters have been detained in Belarus by the authorities own estimates, including one Estonian citizen. ERR's Moscow correspondent Anton Aleksejev, in Minsk, said earlier this week that journalists had been "disappearing" during the crackdown.”
https://news.err.ee/1124072/estonia-leads-eu-foreign-ministers-call-for-resolute-response-on-belarus
 |
| Protest against Lukashenko in Tallinn |
- “Vabaduse väljakul avaldati meelt Valgevenes toimuva vastu: veriste kätega Lukašenka lahku.” - Elu24
Belarus Dividing Russians More Deeply and Permanently Than Ukraine in 2014
By Paul Goble
“… what is happening in the streets of Belarus now (see EDM, August 10) may have an even larger impact on the future of the Russian Federation than did the Ukrainian EuroMaidan and the ensuing Russian invasion of that country.”
- “Tuuleveskitega võitlev südi naine.” - Hebo Rahman, Postimees
Belarus Protests Signal the Autumn of Lukashenko’s Regime
(Carnegie Moscow)
“It’s not yet clear how the country will emerge from this political crisis, but it’s safe to say things won’t go back to the way they were.”
https://carnegie.ru/commentary/82473
- “Belarusians have rejected Lukashenko. So should the EU.” - Politico Europe
- “Russia Won in Belarus.” - Warsaw Institute
- “Does Lukashenka have Enough Forces to Suppress Opposition Not Only in Minsk but Across the Country?” - Window on Eurasia
- “Police in Minsk use rubber bullets and stun grenades against protesters.” - Photos via The Guardian
Why Belarus Is Not Ukraine
(Foreign Policy)
- “Belarus is a lot more authoritarian than Ukraine was or is.”
- “Ukraine was actually sort of democratic when the Maidan protests broke out.”
- “Ukraine’s protesters had a clear goal. Belarusians only have anger and outrage.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/12/belarus-protests-lukashenko-not-ukraine/
EU's Foreign Policy Disappearing Act
(Spiegel)
“It took days for Europe to say anything of consequence about Belarus. And the bloc doesn't seem to have any foreign policy guiding light elsewhere, either. That is dangerous. … The EU won't last if it is unable to develop any sort of geopolitical ambition, if it doesn't work to become a diplomatic and military power.”
__________
Wednesday 12. August
__________
Helsinki to test ferry travelers for COVID-19, Estonia considered safe
(ERR)
"It is very clear today that Tallinn, and Estonia, and the Baltics as a whole, have been declared safe travel regions by the Finnish government, meaning travel is permitted without any kind of quarantine. Travelers going from Tallinn to Finland do not need to worry about quarantine requirements, or testing."
https://news.err.ee/1123295/helsinki-to-test-ferry-travelers-for-covid-19-estonia-considered-safe
Estonia’s Digital Solutions to COVID-19
(FPRI)
“Estonia appears to have also experienced one of the lowest levels of panic amidst the pandemic. To fight the virus, Estonia has deployed familiar techniques: lockdowns, testing, emptying of intensive care wards, human contact-tracing, and government-mandated quarantine. However, Estonia’s coronavirus response is most distinguishable from its global counterparts because of its digital capabilities and “solutions” to the virus.”
https://www.fpri.org/article/2020/08/estonias-digital-solutions-to-covid-19/
“Ilves to lead WHO committee work group on IT solutions.” - Baltic Times
600 U.S. Paratroopers welcomed to Estonia for NATO training
(Redstonerocket)
https://www.theredstonerocket.com/image_72e056e8-dca4-11ea-8d49-db7345fe1412.html
__________
Tuesday 11. August
__________
Peipsi järv on muutunud 170 aastaga kordades kalavaesemaks
(Novaator)
“Peipsi järve saagikus on vähenenud viimase 170 aastaga enam kui neli korda. Kala pole küll järvest kadunud, kuid liigilises koosseisus ja eri kalaliikide suhtelises arvukuses on toimunud ulatuslikud muutused, selgub hiljuti ilmunud teadustööst.”
https://novaator.err.ee/1122798/peipsi-jarv-on-muutunud-170-aastaga-kordades-kalavaesemaks
Controversial Nuclear Plant In Belarus Nears Completion - Vilnius only 50 km away
(OilPrice.com)
“Built by Russian state firm Rosatom and financed by Moscow with a $10 billion loan, the project is opposed by neighboring EU member Lithuania, whose capital, Vilnius, is just 50 kilometers away. … Belarus has rejected suggestions that the plant poses a risk and has insisted it meets all safety standards.”
- “Lithuania Fears New Belarusian Nuclear Plant Hasn't 'Learned Lessons Of Chernobyl’.” - RFERL, January 2020
Forest Fires Are Setting Chernobyl’s Radiation Free
(The Atlantic)
“Over the past 30 years, the government has largely succeeded at keeping what’s in Chernobyl in Chernobyl. But the radionuclides aren’t contained by Ukraine’s quixotic law forbidding their movement. They’re contained by functioning ecosystems.”
—
“When Chernobyl’s trees burn, they send their stored radionuclides aloft as inhalable aerosols. Instead of blasting from a single source, as it did in 1986, the contamination now comes from the trees that cover some 660 square miles around the nuclear power plant. …”
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/08/chernobyl-fires/615067/
__________
Monday 10. August
_________
Dozens of Finns exposed to coronavirus at private event in Estonia
(Helsinki Times)
“Altogether the event was participated by 81 people from 14 localities across Finland and a few from Estonia. Almost two dozen (22) of the participants have experienced symptoms associated with the virus after returning from Estonia to Finland.”
The Baltics missed out this time but the long pursuit of US troops in the region will pay off
(Euronews, 8. August)
“If one pulls back the historical curtain here and looks at the developments of the past fifteen years, then it becomes obvious that the arc has bent towards greater US involvement in the security architecture of Eastern Europe. … The long view suggests that a permanent US flag will be one day flying over the Baltic states.”
OpEd: Beware of Latvians Bearing Gifts
(National Interest)
“There is no need for the United States to guard Europe against the Russians. The Europeans are rich, numerous, and fully capable of defending themselves. America must resist Latvians or Poles bearing gifts. These countries should be enticing the French, British and Germans to help them, not Americans who have needs to tend to at home. If U.S. troops leave Europe, as they should, then the Europeans will remain friends and allies of the United States because America is their best insurance given that it has saved the Europeans three times over the last century. This time, unless the United States is foolish, it need only watch from a distance.”
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/beware-latvians-bearing-gifts-166448
Belarus had its future stolen - again
(Washington Post | Opinion)
“The official results gave him 80 percent, but that is false. He stole the ballots, and in the process postponed once again the hopes of the people of Belarus for a new dawn.”
Europe Must Stand Up for Belarus
(Foreign Policy)
“But amid this crisis, Western foreign policy is missing in action. The failure to act decisively in Belarus, in fact, clearly shows the decline of Western influence. A profoundly erratic Washington, which seemed on the verge of offering material help to the Lukashenko regime to distance itself from Russia when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited in February, is now nowhere to be seen. The United States previously had a long-term strategy, however flawed, to support the post-Soviet states by proactively seeking to distance them from Russia: Under Trump, this is no longer the case.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/07/belarus-europe-elections-russia-pro-democracy-protests/
__________
_______
____
