In the run-up to the presidential elections on August 9, the mood in Belarus is turning against strongman Alexander Lukashenko. The West should seize the moment to help regime opponents, writes Alexander Sikorski.
Psycho 3%. That’s what thousands of anti-government protesters chanted last week Thursday as they formed a human chain several kilometers long in the center of Minsk. The phrase refers to an online opinion poll showing just 3% support for the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko and his dismissal of the coronavirus pandemic as a mere “psychosis.” The slogan upset Lukashenko so much that the next day he ordered the shutdown of mobile internet connections all across the country, and sent riot police to beat and arrest hundreds of peaceful protesters and journalists. Since then, even soldiers and security services have joined the movement, sharing photos on social media displaying Psycho 3% signs.
