Da Belarusian thread

[Zanza]

Mono's (naive/informed?) belief in rule of law in HK seems irrelevant to air piracy in Belarus.

[Monoriu]

So that's the reason the CCP regime is going to divert airplanes from a territory it already controls? Because some of the thousands of dissidents they arrest are released again?

I dunno, doesn't sound super convincing....

It isn't super convincing to you, because you live in Canada. 

The pan-democrats that I personally know are already making posts on their Facebook pages, referring to the story and reminding their friends to be careful. 

[Richard Hakluyt]

I can see it spreading if Belarus more or less gets away with it.

[Sheilbh]

I can see it spreading if Belarus more or less gets away with it.

Yeah - and the other point is it's challenging to work out what can be done. I think it needs to be something that hurts him and his clique economically - so personal sanctions, but I also think it's serious enough to justify trade sanctions and no flights to or from EU/NATO countries.

I don't know if that's enough, but I also can't think of what alternatives there are?

Edit: And a mandatory no fly zone - as someone on Twitter's pointed out Ryanair are still flying through Belarussian airspace. There's currently a flight from Athens to Tallinn over Belarus

[Richard Hakluyt]

Belarus has a national airline, Belavia. Denying them access to EU and British airports would be a hefty blow https://www.airlineroutemaps.com/maps/Belavia_Belarusian_Airlines

But maybe that would just punish the ordinary people of Belarus, who have enough crap to deal with already 

[Sheilbh]

Belarus has a national airline, Belavia. Denying them access to EU and British airports would be a hefty blow https://www.airlineroutemaps.com/maps/Belavia_Belarusian_Airlines

But maybe that would just punish the ordinary people of Belarus, who have enough crap to deal with already 

It definitely would - but I think that's the challenge with Belarus in general. I don't think the regime desperately craves respectability and I don't think they're massively exposed economically on a personal level (in the way of, say, a Mubarak or Russian elite). So they're difficult to influence and I feel like it might need the blunt tools that will hurt ordinary people too.

Edit: Incidentally the Ryanair statement on this is hilarious

[OttoVonBismarck]

I mean literally nothing will happen. They'll sanction some high ranking Belarusian officials, sanctions that will mostly have no impact on them since most of them aren't globetrotters anyway.

[Josquius]

Belarus has a national airline, Belavia. Denying them access to EU and British airports would be a hefty blow https://www.airlineroutemaps.com/maps/Belavia_Belarusian_Airlines

But maybe that would just punish the ordinary people of Belarus, who have enough crap to deal with already 

It definitely would - but I think that's the challenge with Belarus in general. I don't think the regime desperately craves respectability and I don't think they're massively exposed economically on a personal level (in the way of, say, a Mubarak or Russian elite). So they're difficult to influence and I feel like it might need the blunt tools that will hurt ordinary people too.

Edit: Incidentally the Ryanair statement on this is hilarious

I was expecting a final line of "I am OK and I write this all of my free will".

[Sheilbh]

I was expecting a final line of "I am OK and I write this all of my free will".

I love that they just don't mention that one of their passengers was kidnapped.

See people on Twitter joking that they're probably planninga €19.99 "No kidnapping" supplemental fee

Edit: Amazingly the Belarussian government is apparently blaming Hamas.

UK has suspended the Belarussian national carrier's operating licence so they won't be allowed to fly in the UK. Also requested all UK flights avoid Belarussian airspace.

[Admiral Yi]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhTmm8i4WVs

Everyone is flying around Belarus.  Weird that one flight diverted east of Belarus over Russian airspace.

Should the Ryanair pilot have told the MiGs to fuck off?  Honest question.

[Valmy]

Weird that one flight diverted east of Belarus over Russian airspace.

I mean might as well. The Russians haven't done any of that shit yet...or in awhile anyway.

[The Brain]

Should the Ryanair pilot have told the MiGs to fuck off?  Honest question.

No.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah. There's nothing the pilot could have done differently - they had a fighter and messages that there was a bomb on board and they needed to land.

[Zanza]

I mean might as well. The Russians haven't done any of that shit yet...or in awhile anyway.

They shot down MH17 in 2014.

[Jacob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhTmm8i4WVs

Everyone is flying around Belarus.  Weird that one flight diverted east of Belarus over Russian airspace.

Should the Ryanair pilot have told the MiGs to fuck off?  Honest question.

No, I don't think so. I don't think the crew can be faulted.