Belarus former presidential candidate and Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has called on Norwegian group Yara International ASA, Oslo, to suspend its supply contracts with Belarus’ state-owned potash producer, Belaruskali, and to support Belaruskali potash workers on strike, according to an Interfax report this week, citing a Jan. 11 statement from Tikhanovskaya’s Telegram channel.
In a letter, Tikhanovskaya expressed her gratitude to Yara International ASA President and CEO Svein Tore Holsether for his stance against violence in Belarus following the disputed Aug. 9 re-election of incumbent Alexander Lukashenko and for Yara’s support for the people of Belarus and Belaruskali strikers, but she believes Yara should consider pausing or not prolonging the contract with its Belarusian partner, according to the report.
Tikhanovskaya also asked Yara to consider establishing a solidarity fund to support Belaruskali workers on strike. According to her press service, more than 130 Belaruskali workers are currently on strike.
In the latest of a series of updates on its website expressing “concern about the Belarus situation” following the Aug. 9 elections, Holsether said last month “the continued suppression of human and workers’ rights in Belarus, as described in the recent report by the OSCE Rapporteur, is unacceptable,” and that “the current situation is not tenable for Yara” (GM Dec. 11, 2020). However, the CEO, who visited Belaruskali in September to make his position clear, did not say whether Yara would sever business ties with the potash producer.
In a separate development this week, Tikhanovskaya has discussed the possibility of imposing target tariff sanctions on Belaruskali with Lithuanian Economy and Innovation Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė, according to an Interfax report this week.