Belarusian opposition leader in exile Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called the situation in Belarus “absolutely unacceptable” and asked for international pressure to oust embattled President Alexander Lukashenko. She said that Lukashenko no longer represents Belarus.
Speaking via video message to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on September 8, Tikhanovskaya urged international pressure, including sanctions against Lukashenko and his government.
She said, “My country, my nation, my people need help now. We need international pressure on this regime, on this man who is desperately clinging to power. We need to impose sanctions on those individuals who give and carry out criminal orders that violate international norms and human rights. We need to immediately release all political prisoners and begin a civilized dialogue to find a way forward for our country.”
She also appealed on behalf of Belarusians who are currently subjected to mass detentions, beatings and apparently enforced disappearances by security forces.
She said, “Like millions of Belarusians, I refuse to accept that this is the fate of my country. Like millions of Belarusians, I refuse to allow the world to stand by and watch these countless violations of human rights, this blatant disregard for human dignity, this complete erasure of the minimum level of respect for human decency. Just like millions of Belarusians, I refuse to retreat and give up. “
Tikhanovskaya told PACE delegates that “countries and parties that do business with Mr. Lukashenko do so at their own risk” and not to expect that the new democratically elected government that will follow will abide by any treaty signed “by an illegal regime against the will of the (Belarusian people)”.
Tikhanovskaya is Lukashenko’s opponent in the August 9 presidential election. The opposition accused the election of fraud.
She fled to Lithuania a few days after the election. In the meantime, massive protests broke out in Belarus, and there were rumors that the authorities were about to arrest her.
Unprecedented daily protests continue. Protesters called for Lukashenko’s resignation and new elections.
Hours before Tikhanovskaya’s appearance at PACE, Belarusian authorities said they had arrested one of her allies. The ally and two other opposition organizers had mysteriously appeared at a checkpoint on the Ukrainian border after it was feared they had been kidnapped a day earlier in Minsk.
All three are members of a coordinating committee of an opposition group calling for a transition of power and an end to Lukashenka’s 26-year rule.
PACE President Riek Dahms recently called on Belarus to embark on “a comprehensive and inclusive national political process” to ensure a peaceful and democratic transition.
Belarus is not a member of the Council of Europe, but since its partner state status was suspended in 1997, the Council of Europe has maintained a dialogue with Belarusian authorities and regularly requests the participation of Belarusian politicians in meetings of its commissions.
It is symbolic that I am speaking today here at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on behalf of Belarus, a country at the geographical center of Europe,” Tikhanovskaya said on Sept. 8. However, I am speaking as an outsider. I am convinced that this situation will not last long. Belarusians are today fighting for the very values that this organization was founded to uphold – human rights, democracy and the rule of law, which our current regime despises and makes a mockery of.”
Lukashenko has refused to talk to his opponents and has rejected calls for new elections.
The apparent kidnapping of members of the opposition’s Coordinating Council on Sept. 7 seemed to indicate an attempt by the authorities to extinguish the momentum of the protests and intimidate the opposition, Reuters quoted Tikhanovskaya as saying.
Tikhanovskaya plans to visit Warsaw this week to meet with Polish officials.
Lukashenko is also preparing for the trip. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on September 7 that Lukashenko planned to visit Russia “within a few days. Peskov reportedly told TASS that “preparations are in full swing.
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