LAST UPDATE | 16 Aug 2020
BELARUS PRESIDENT ALEXANDER Lukashenko has vehemently rejected any possibility of holding a rerun of a disputed election that saw him continue his hold on power last week.
The strongman was speaking at a rally of thousands of supporters near the main government building in Minsk today.
The 65-year-old accused Western powers of interfering in his country’s sovereignty.
He claimed they were gathering military units in countries along Belarus’ western borders and denounced suggestions by some Western nations that Belarus should rerun the presidential vote.
“If we follow their lead (and rerun the election), we will perish as a state,” Lukashenko declared.
It came as the opposition brought thousands of demonstrators to the streets of the country’s capital today, a week on from the disputed election that triggered unprecedented protests against Lukashenko.
Facing the biggest challenge of his 26 years in power, Lukashenko said yesterday that he had won support from Russian President Vladimir Putin who promised help to “ensure the security of Belarus”.
The Kremlin said only that the leaders had agreed in a phone call that the “problems” in Belarus would be “resolved soon”, with no mention of specific support for Lukashenko.
The Belarusian leader, who has ruled his ex-Soviet country since 1994, is under increasing pressure from the streets and abroad over his claim to have won re-election last Sunday with 80 percent of the vote.
The authoritarian president has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994, repressing opposition figures and independent news media.
But this year, fed up with the country’s declining living standards and Lukashenko’s dismissal of the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing protests have undermined his rule.
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets to denounce the result this week in a show of support for the main opposition challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old novice who ran after other potential candidates, including her husband, were jailed.
A violent police crackdown on protesters has seen more 6,700 people arrested, hundreds wounded and two people dead.
From exile in Lithuania, where she fled on Tuesday, Tikhanovskaya called for a weekend of peaceful rallies including Sunday’s march in Minsk.
The opposition has called for one of the biggest rallies yet in defiance of Lukashenko, who has dismissed protesters as foreign-controlled “sheep” and criminals.
A pro-government demonstration is also taking place, before the opposition march is set to begin. There were reports of workers being required to attend the demonstration or risk losing their jobs.
On Friday, hundreds of workers at state-run factories walked off the job in protest at the election, in a first sign that Lukashenko’s traditional support base was turning against him.
Thousands of opposition supporters demonstrated in Minsk on Saturday, with many gathering at the spot where a 34-year-old protester died during unrest on Monday.
Fears of Russian intervention
Amnesty International has accused authorities of carrying out “a campaign of widespread torture” to crush the opposition.
Some protesters said yesterday that they feared a Russian intervention on Lukashenko’s behalf.
“It’s obvious that our president can’t deal with his own people any more, he’s seeking help in the east,” said Alexei Linich, a 27-year-old programmer.
“If Russia intervenes, that would be the worst. I’m really afraid of this,” said Olga Nesteruk, a landscape designer.
Thousands also protested on Saturday evening outside the Belarusian state television centre, complaining that their broadcasts backed Lukashenko and gave a skewed picture of the protests.
Around 100 staff came out of the building to join the crowd, and said they planned a strike on Monday.
European governments have condemned the election and police crackdown, and EU ministers on Friday agreed to draw up a list of targets in Belarus for a new round of sanctions.
The leaders of the three ex-Soviet Baltic states – Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – called for a new vote yesterday.
Tikhanovskaya has announced the creation of a Coordination Council to ensure a transfer of power, asking foreign governments to “help us in organising a dialogue with Belarusian authorities”.
She demanded the authorities release all detainees, remove security forces from the streets and open criminal cases against those who ordered the crackdown. She has said she will organise new elections if Lukashenko steps down.
But Lukashenko rejected any foreign mediation in the crisis and told defence chiefs he would not hand over power.
“We will not give up the country to anyone,” he said. “We don’t need any foreign governments, any intermediaries.”
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