The American Byzantine

— Basically the entire excuse that 🇦🇪 UAE 🇦🇪 signed Peace Deal with Israel to stop the Annexation is just a bunch of lies.

— It's official boys, UAE recognized Israel as a State and normalized relations with Israel

(Part 3/3)

Expect more countries to weigh in on the debate over the election in the next few days, especially if the protests get worse. But already we can see a clear divide between the Russian-led countries of Eurasia and NATO.

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, himself, said this about the election:

"NATO Allies have expressed serious concerns over the conduct of the presidential election in Belarus. NATO condemns violence against peaceful protestors. Fundamental rights must be respected, including freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest"

So, whilst it's too early to predict what will happen next and whether the protests will grow in size or not, what we can almost certainly expect is foreign actors to exploit the chaos (as they always do).

I'm sure many people are looking with worried eyes at the state of Belarus' southern neighbour and hoping the country doesn't take a similar turn. But NATO's ambitions have always been about US imperialism and never the concerns of ordinary citizens.

I suggest keeping a close eye on Belarus, it will be interesting to see what unfolds in the next few days and weeks. Perhaps we'll see the usual characters turn up on the scene by that point under the guise of "democracy" and "human rights".

🇧🇾 All you need to know about yesterday's Belarusian Election and the Unfolding Coup backed by NATO | 1/3

Last night saw intense clashes in Belarus between the police and anti-government protestors in the aftermath of yesterday's presidential election. Incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, faced Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the wife of an arrested anti-regime blogger, as well as other minor opposition candidates.

The election was won by Lukashenko who finished first with 80%, according to preliminary results. In response to the (most certainly) rigged vote, many Belarusians have taken to the streets to voice their frustration, with leaders of the opposition refusing to accept the outcome. Here is a rundown of the events of the last 24 hours:

Who is Alexander Lukashenko and why is he important?

Lukashenko isn't your average elected political leader who lasts four to eight years in office before making way for somebody new. No, he has been president for five terms now, having won every election since 1994. He is the first and only president of Belarus following the fall of the Soviet Union. He can best be described as a strongman.

Where does he stand on foreign policy? Who are his allies and adversaries?

Belarus is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). All of these organisations fall within Russia's sphere of influence. Lukashenko has traditionally had a good relationship with Moscow, albeit with a few tensions from time to time.

However in recent months, relations have turned particularly sour between the two countries. Lukashenko has accused Vladimir Putin of trying to turn Belarus into a colony of Russia and has criticised Russian journalists on numerous occasions, claiming that they're trying to undermine the legitimacy of his regime. He's even made arrests linked to these allegations.

Despite Lukashenko's rather unfortunate remarks as of late, he has not gone as far as aligning himself with the US & NATO and it's unlikely he will. Right now, the Belarusian leader is in a tricky situation: he wants to reduce his country's dependency on Russia and have US and EU sanctions dropped against him, but at the same time not startle the Russian Bear to its Eastern border.

So this brings us to yesterday's election. What happened?

So to first provide some context, this election was much more significant than the last five Lukashenko has participated in. The opposition to his rule is much stronger than it previously was and the people's sentiment towards their president is a lot harsher than last time around. It hasn't helped that he's alienated so many Russians inside the country either, with his recent shots at the Kremlin.

Riding on a wave of anti-Lukashenko anger, many prominent activists within Belarus threw their hat into the ring to challenge the president. Most were barred from running, most notably anti-regime activist and YouTuber Siarhei Tsikhanouski, whose wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya decided to run in his place instead.

The fact that she ran a campaign whose image was one of "female solidarity", received support from the Marxist and pro-migrant Amnesty International and was backed by NATO says all you need to know about the interests of this particular individual.

So fast forward to election day, which was yesterday, and what were the results of this heated campaign between those who support the president and those who oppose him? Well, as written at the start of this post, Lukashenko came out on top by quite a mile with 80% support. At least, that's what is claimed by the Belarusian electoral commission.

Read Part 2 here...

Sumner Redstone is gone. Good riddance.