Support us on Patreon! (https://www.patreon.com/previouslyineurope)We now have a website that you can find here! (http://previouslyineurope.eu/)There's a discord here (http://leftists.eu)WE HAVE A T-PUBLIC STORE (https://www.teepublic.com/user/previneurope) what a fashionable way to support our podcastFeel free to send us an email at [email protected] or follow us on Twitter @PrevInEurope (https://twitter.com/PrevInEurope)If you can please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and if you can't do that tell a friend, this stuff really helps us outAlso, have you considered Matteo Renzi?No Election Left Behind2020 Belarusian presidential electionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020Belarusianpresidential_electionEU responseEU officially doesn't recognise the results, but it took a while (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/19/belarus-crisis-eu-leaders-emergency-talks-lukashenko-protests). There's talk of sanctions but nothing specific yetOn the delay from a Politico Newsletter:ANOTHER STATEMENT: The EU threatened sanctions earlier this week, but today’s videoconference is more about delivering a “quick reaction,” a senior EU diplomat told Jacopo Barigazzi. A decision very likely won’t come until the foreign ministers meet in person August 27-28 in Berlin, the diplomat said, for an informal gathering known as a “Gymnich.” And since EU High Representative Josep Borrell is technically on holiday away from Brussels, no press conference is expected at the end of today’s meeting — just a readout.Also...https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/08/17/belarus-why-this-time-is-not-different/StrikesCall for solidarity from worker organisations: https://progressive.international/wire/2020-08-19-an-urgent-call-for-solidarity-with-the-workers-and-people-of-belarus/enhttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/state-controlled-firms-join-strike-belarus-president-200818113145275.htmlhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/17/belarus-opposition-calls-for-general-strike-after-biggest-protests-yetIncluding the state TV station - https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-television-broadcasts-empty-studio-as-state-media-joins-general-strike/a-54593079?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdfEurope's last dictator...For a very questionable graph: https://www.rferl.org/a/years-of-lukashenka-and-counting/30769566.htmlBut yes he's been in office a long time and it would not be reasonable to say he's been winning fair elections for a long time.The response from the Lukashenka side to the possibility of a real challenger is not surprising - imprisoned candidates, banned rallies, etc (https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/08/07/ahead-of-the-presidential-elections-in-belarus/)From Maxim Rust, Polish political science researcher:"The elections will be held on August 9th. Nobody is sure about how they will unfold or how the authorities will react to the planned mass protests in their aftermath. One thing is certain – regardless of the election results, Belarusian society is not what it was just a few months ago. "That was pretty spot onCrackdown"Opposition leader" forced to leave for safetyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SviatlanaTsikhanouskaya#citenote-41https://www.rferl.org/a/belarusian-opposition-candidate-forced-to-leave-country/30778578.htmlhttps://news.sky.com/video/end-violence-on-streets-of-belarus-says-opposition-leader-12049164https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53733330Internet cutoffhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/11/belarus-president-cuts-off-internet-amid-widespread-protestshttps://twitter.com/BBCWillVernon/status/1293963021677735937Beatings and torture of those arrested, general harsh approach to protestershttps://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/10/belarus-elections-lukashenko-protests-tikhanovskaya-europe/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/13/belarusians-accuse-lukashenko-regime-of-beatings-and-torturehttps://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/10/belarus-elections-lukashenko-protests-tikhanovskaya-europe/https://www.eurotopics.net/en/245568/protests-and-violence-after-belarus-electionshttps://euobserver.com/foreign/149144?utmsource=euobs&utmmedium=rssJournalists being rounded up specificallyhttps://twitter.com/HannaLiubakova/status/1293867313775747072https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danpeleschuk/belarus-detention-centers-abuse-lukashenko-protestshttps://www.dw.com/en/dws-belarus-correspondent-released-after-10-day-arrest/a-54584439?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf