One Week After Election, Belarus Sees Giant Protests Against 'Europe's Last Dictator'

Best wishes to them for a better future.

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/16/903036245/one-week-after-election-belarus-sees-giant-protests-against-europe-s-last-dictat

 
August 16, 20205:30 PM ET
Rachel Treisman 

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Belarus on Sunday in what appeared to be their largest demonstration yet against the widely-disputed reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko.

Lukashenko, who has been labeled "Europe's last dictator," first took office in 1994 and staked his claim to a sixth term after declaring a landslide victory in the country's election last Sunday. Opponents immediately condemned the results as rigged, and a wide cross-section of citizens have been calling for change at protests every day since.

An especially massive crowd gathered in the capital of Minsk to participate in a "Freedom March" on Sunday. Many were dressed in red and white, the colors of the opposition. 

•••••

There was no official count of the crowd size, though the sweeping demonstration appears to be the largest in the country's history. The Associated Press reported that as many as 200,000 people turned out in Minsk.

•••••

The protests broke out after President Alexander Lukashenko declared a landslide in Sunday's election, laying claim to a sixth term in office. His main opponent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, initially protested the results of the election, then disappeared — and resurfaced in neighboring Lithuania, to join her children, who were sent out of Belarus for their safety during the campaign. Tikhanovskaya posted a video in which she said she had been forced to make the difficult decision to leave the country.

Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old political novice, stepped into the race against Lukashenko after election authorities refused to register the candidacy of her husband, activist blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, who gained popularity with a YouTube channel critical of the government. He was arrested and jailed two days after announcing his intentions to run for office and remains in jail.

•••••

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has condemned the conduct of Sunday's election, and the European Union is considering sanctions against Lukashenko's government.

In a statement Thursday, the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called for "a substantial political change" in Belarus and described the situation there as "a matter of grave concern."

"After last Sunday's Presidential elections, Alexander Lukashenko and the [Belarusian] authorities must stop the repression against the Belarus people and open negotiations with the wider society," he said.

In an interview Wednesday, Pompeo told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Washington wants "good outcomes for the Belarusian people, and we'll take actions consistent with that."

•••••