Stephen Chan OBE, an author and Professor of World Politics at SOAS, University of London, has said it is not a good thing for Zimbabwe to befriend Belarus considering that “the repression in Belarus makes Zimbabwe look amateurish.”
His remarks followed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s State visit to Zimbabwe yesterday, 30 January 2023. Chan said:
Pomp and fanfare. But this is a shame. Lukashenko is NOT someone to be seen closely friendly towards: a dictator through & through. Believe it or not, the repression in Belarus makes Zimbabwe look amateurish.
The visit is premised on cementing economic and political ties between the two countries that are both close allies of Russia, according to Zimbabwe’s foreign affairs ministry.
Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa and hundreds of singing and cheering ruling party supporters welcomed Lukashenko at the main Robert Gabriel Mugabe International airport in the capital, Harare.
Belarus has provided Zimbabwe with farm equipment such as tractors, combine harvesters and trucks under a deal worth tens of millions of dollars following Mnangagwa’s visit to the Belarusian capital Minsk in 2019.
Mnangagwa and Lukashenko have repeatedly been accused by internal rivals and the West of using arrests and other forms of harassment to stifle dissent and remain in power in their countries — allegations they deny.
Lukashenko has been in power since 1994. His term was renewed in 2020, in elections widely denounced as a sham.
There has been widespread repression of political opposition and independent media following the disputed 2020 presidential election.
The government has used force to crack down on protests, arrested opposition figures and journalists, and limited internet access.
The international community has condemned the actions of the Belarusian government and imposed economic sanctions in response.