8 September 2020

...We write to draw your attention to the ongoing human rights violations in Belarus. Below, we summarize recent developments in Belarus and note that the US, UK and EU have condemned the brutal handling of the recent protests by Belarusian government and have not recognised the recent presidential elections in Belarus as free and fair.

Michelin is one of the main suppliers of tyres to the Belarusian Automobile Plant (BelAZ), a large state-owned enterprise located in Zhodzina, Belarus (The world's biggest mining dump trucks). Recently, several members of BelAZ's strike committee were arrested and detained as the current political regime attempts to intimidate workers intending to go on strike («Легче жить по понятиям». В Жодино после марша БЕЛАЗа задержали как минимум троих человек). Some of the workers were reportedly locked in one of the workshops during the strike on the 13th of August, road police blocked all the entrances to the plant on that day and the mobile network was shut down (https://belsat.eu/en/news/belaz-plant-on-strike-video-photo/). Profits earned by BelAZ go directly to the Belarusian government that channels these funds to brutally suppress peaceful demonstrations, limit free speech, and falsify elections...