After Alexander Lukashenko’s victory in the presidential election in Belarus, there have been massive violent clashes by the protesters in Minsk.
The unrest in Belarus is going on for 4 continuous days where thousands of protesters accused Lukashenko who has been in power since 25 years of swindling votes.
Alexander Lukashenko’s 2020 election’s opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania citing her children’s safety.
Tikhanouskaya’s campaign rallies drew some of the biggest crowds since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
According to reports, witnesses gave statements that dozens of people have been arrested and beaten by the police during protests. Car horns were blared to show support and solidarity with the opposition (Tikhanouskaya), and some people were seen clapping and shouting “go away”.
The European Union accused Lukashenko’s government of “disproportionate and unacceptable violence” and said it was reviewing its relations with Minsk.
After the election result, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a statement that this presidential election was“not free and fair.”
“We strongly condemn ongoing violence against protesters and the detention of opposition supporters, as well as the use of internet shutdowns to hinder the ability of the Belarusian people to share information about the election and the demonstrations,” Pompeo added in a statement.
Foreign observers have not judged an election to be free and fair in Belarus since 1995, and the run-up to this month’s vote saw authorities jail Lukashenko’s rivals and open criminal investigations of others who voiced opposition.
Tiljanouskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher who now is in her husband’s ballot after he was jailed, requested everyone in Belarus through an emotional video to take out peaceful rallies, not go against police and refrain from doing something that can put their lives in danger.
Although Tikhanouskaya’s husband Syarhei, an anti-government blogger, remains in jail in Belarus, she was reunited with her children in Lithuania. She had moved them earlier after receiving anonymous threats about their safety.
Tikhanauskaya in her video said, “You know, I thought that this whole campaign had really toughened me up and given me so much strength that I could handle anything. But, probably, I’m still the weak woman I was in the first place. I have made a very difficult decision for myself,”
The foreign minister of Lithuania, Lina Limkevicius in a press conference said that Tikhanouskaya was in a trouble and the situation was difficult for her handle so she did not have any other choice but to leave the country. They gave Tikhanouskaya one year visa and a place to stay that would ensure her safety.
The foreign minister of Lithuania also said, “Apparently, the other choice was not compatible with freedom, so she needed to take the offered possibility to leave the country, and used it.”
In the video, she has addressed people asking them to accept the results of the election and refrain from protests that could cost their lives which came as a change in the stand she took before. Although, it was unclear if the video had been made under some sort of pressure or as part of a deal allowing her to leave the country.
After state media’s display of the young arrested men with their hands tied from the back and called Russian provocateurs, Lukashenko drew their comparison with a criminal gang and dangerous shadowy ‘foreign backers’.
Belarus has strained relations with Russia, although President Vladimir Putin used a congratulatory telegram to nudge Lukashenko to accept closer ties. Lukashenko has long accused Russia of aiming to swallow up his nation of 9.5 million people.
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