The role of UK companies in allegedly helping to prop up Europe’s so-called “last dictatorship” is coming under unprecedented pressure amid signs that lobbying by Belarusian exiles and others is paying off.
Rolls-Royce and British American Tobacco are among the firms that have responded to lobbying by the Belarusian diaspora and indicated they were willing to take action.
In the wake of the “hijacking” last Sunday of a Ryanair plane and the arrest of two passengers onboard, the Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich and his Russian girlfriend, activists in the UK have stepped up lobbying of the holders of Belarus bonds listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
But among the UK-based companies to have responded are some which have been alerted to alleged severe violations of workers’ rights to assemble, strike and form independent trade unions at Belarusian state-owned enterprises.
They include Rolls-Royce, which is a supplier of BelAZ, a Belarusian vehicle factory and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of large dump trucks. Rolls-Royce confirmed to the Guardian…
