Western Democracies Vow Millions for Belarus Opposition

Belarussian police detains a protester during an opposition rally in the center of Minsk in the evening of January 21. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Thirty six countries have united during a special fundraising conference in their promise of a total of EUR 87 M in financing of the opposition groups in Belarus.

The statement was made Wednesday by Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, upon the conclusion of the talks, saying the majority of this amount will be new funding.

Sikorski pointed out the Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko, is holding on to power against the will of his people, similarly to some Middle East leaders, but at the end he will be forced to abdicate and flee the country.

The Polish diplomat made a parallel between Belarus and the civil unrest in Tunis and Egypt.

"Mr. Luksahenko, you are losing grounds. Sooner or later you fill be forced to leave your own country, hunted by your own people, and seek asylum somewhere else," the Minister declared.

On Monday, the European Union and the US imposed new sanctions on Belarus in response to Lukashenko's decision to crush recent demonstrations after his questionable reelection in December.

They measures include a ban on Lukashenko and about 160 State officials to travel in the EU and the freezing of their assets.

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