Vincent Boland: West must stand united as walls close in on Europe’s last dictator

The Belarus president may have little time left in office, but it is up to the EU to ensure the transition to democracy is a peaceful one

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, centre, has been under siege like never before since mass demonstrations against his dictatorship began in August last year Picture: Getty Images

An official profile on the presidential website of Aleksandr Lukashenko, the dictator of Belarus, makes much of his capacity for brushing off the slings and arrows his job throws at him. “You wake up and keep running,” it quotes him as saying. “This hamster wheel keeps spinning and there is no escaping it. If you stop, it will keep moving and throw you back.”

This ability to endure may explain why Lukashenko, who will be ...