TOPLINE
Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called for peaceful demonstrations Friday after six days of brutality against protesters by government security forces following the reelection of President Aleksandr Lukashenko that has been largely deemed illegitimate.
MINSK, BELARUS - AUGUST 14, 2020: A woman and a Belarusian law enforcement officer embrace in ... [+]
KEY FACTS
Speaking by video from Lithuania, where she fled after being detained for several hours while attempting to contest the results of the election, Tikhanovskaya called for authorities to end the violence against protesters and “engage in dialogue” with the opposition.
Tikhanovskaya called on mayors to organize peaceful mass gatherings across the country and asked her supporters to sign an online petition calling for a vote recount, and noting there is documented evidence the election was unfair—both the United States and the European Union have deemed the election illegitimate, and the EU. has moved to impose sanctions on the Lukashenko regime.
“Where commissions counted the votes fairly, support for me amounted to 60 percent to 70 percent” she says in the video (Lukashenko claimed he won 80% of the vote Sunday).
Security forces have grown increasingly hostile since the protests began, detaining roughly 6,700 people amid allegations of torture from detainees who were released Friday.
Demonstrations have continued with tens of thousands of people protesting Friday in the capital city of Minsk, and state-owned factory workers, largely seen as Lukashenko’s political base, threatening to strike unless a fair election is held.
Social media posts of police and military officers throwing away their uniforms and security forces dropping their shields to be embraced by demonstrators signal Lukashenko may be losing support.
Key Background
Tikhanouskaya, is a 37-year-old school teacher who replaced her husband, a political blogger, on the presidential ballot after he was arrested in May. Other opposition figures who intended to run were either arrested or forced to flee the country. A widespread communications outage, which crippled mobile internet and landlines, hit the country Sunday night as exit polls called the election for Lukashenko. Only limited WiFi access was available and all social media sites were blocked. The government claims that the outage was caused by “multiple cyber-attacks” from abroad while human rights organizations said the government is throttling communications. Tikhanouskaya publicly rejected the election results and on Monday filed for a recount at the Central Election Commission headquarters in Minsk where supporters say she was coerced into recording a video conceding the election and forced to leave the country. She arrived in Lithuania on Tuesday. Members of Tikhanouskaya’s campaign told CNN that nine campaign staffers had been arrested leading up to the election, her husband remained in custody, and prior to the election her children had been sent to Lithuania following threats they would be sent to an orphanage. Her video appearance Friday was her first since leaving Belarus.
Further Reading
Belarus election: Exiled leader calls weekend of 'peaceful rallies' (BBC)
Tens of thousands defy crackdown and years of authoritarianism to protest Belarus dictator (NBC News)
Belarus riot police drop shields and are embraced by anti-government protesters (CNN)
Workers Join Belarus Protests, as Leader’s Base Turns Against Him (New York Times)
