Minsk is ready to release up to 8,000 prisoners by Victory Day.

On April 24, the Parliament of Belarus received a draft amnesty dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The authorities announce that it may affect about 8 thousand people. It is unclear whether the oppositionists serving their sentences will be among them. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya will visit the USA on May 1-7. Meanwhile, Alexander Lukashenko, according to analysts, is disappointed by the lack of reaction from the West to conciliatory gestures.

Lukashenko’s press service notes that the draft law “On amnesty in connection with the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War” retains the approaches successfully tested during the amnesties of previous years (four amnesties have been announced in Belarus over the past five years). At the same time, a number of innovations are envisaged.

It is reported: “The list of persons who are completely exempt from punishment and other criminal liability measures has been supplemented with a new category of persons with certain diseases. It is also proposed that previously convicted persons who have reached the age of 70 and have been sentenced to up to six years in prison should be commuted to a more lenient sentence in the form of restriction of liberty without being sent to an open-type correctional institution.”

In addition, instead of a full amnesty, a partial one is being applied in the form of a one-year reduction in punishment to persons convicted of negligent homicide.

It is emphasized that “in relation to the majority of convicts, the main conditions for the application of the amnesty provided for in the draft law are full compensation for the harm (damage) caused by the crime committed, as well as a positive characteristic of the person while serving the sentence.”

Lukashenko’s press service claims that almost 8,000 convicts will be granted amnesty.

Opposition information resources note that the amnesties conducted in the country did not affect those who were serving time for offenses related to opposition to the authorities. There is reason to believe that this will be the case this time.

Indeed, oppositionists in Belarus have recently been released through the pardon procedure. Since the middle of last year, they began to be released in waves, two or three dozen convicts each. The last such act took place in January of this year before the presidential elections.

At that time, the Telegram channel of the presidential pool “Pool One” noted: “Over the past year, based on the principles of humanity, the President of Belarus pardoned 293 people (including 89 women, 17 people who committed crimes as minors). Every pardon is a sign of mercy, a chance to return to a normal life and become a law–abiding member of society.”

However, after that, the “acts of mercy” were put on pause. Political analyst Valery Karbalevich believes: “The authorities hoped that this election campaign would allow them to restart relations with the West.” According to the expert, the logic was as follows: “The meaning of the message to the West was that, they say, even if there were questions about the 2020 elections, even if you recognized Svetlana Tikhanovskaya as president, but five years have passed, that cadence is over. New elections have been held, Lukashenko has received “fresh” legitimacy, let’s start relations from scratch.”

But the president’s signals were ignored. “However, all these hopes were not fulfilled. The pardon of over 300 political prisoners did not cause much response in the West. The reaction there was something like this: good, but not enough. They did not enter into a full-fledged trade with Minsk.

The presidential elections, which were held “quietly and calmly,” were not recognized by Europe. This greatly angered Lukashenko. They say, how is that? After all, we conducted them the way you wanted five years ago.”

Experts point out that this disappointment may be the reason for the tightening of rhetoric against the West and the pause in pardons.

However, the head of Belarus clearly has hopes that if Europe does not hear him, then things can still work out with Trump, whom he often easily calls Donald.

However, on Wednesday, the press service of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya’s Joint Transitional Cabinet announced that she would pay a visit to the United States on May 1-7. The message states: “The politician will, among other things, participate in the forum organized by the McCain Institute in Sedona, Arizona, as well as the Munich Leaders Meeting and a public event at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC.”

Tikhanovskaya, in an interview with one of the opposition resources, stated that she plans to meet with both representatives of the Trump administration and congressmen. “We are trying to convey our position and the importance of supporting both Ukraine and Belarus, because we believe that a free Belarus is also in the interests of the United States,” Tikhanovskaya said.

Of course, it will be very revealing whether someone from the Trump administration will meet with Tikhanovskaya. If so, what level will this interlocutor be? The McCain Institute has been announced as the main venue where Tikhanovskaya is scheduled to speak. Named after the late Senator John McCain, the institute is referred to as a “nonpartisan think tank.” However, it is well known that the senator, one of the most prominent representatives of the Republican Party, has consistently criticized Trump.