Major protest in Belarus – Tense situation: Lukashenko takes up arms

Despite the renewed mass protests in the Belarusian capital Minsk, ruler Alexander Lukashenko continues to rely on hardship and shows no willingness to compromise. He was armed and in a bulletproof vest brought by a helicopter to his presidential palace on Sunday evening, as shown by the state media. Lukashenko called the demonstrators “rats”. State television also showed Lukashenko leaving the helicopter with a Kalashnikov submachine gun in hand in black gear and going to the palace. Opposition sources in the news channel Telegram emphasized that there was no magazine in the weapon.

The Palace of Independence, as it is officially called, was like a fortress. Armored vehicles and units with security guards could be seen at the driveways. You should prevent the angry crowd from storming the palace. People had also gathered there.

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Lukashenko thanked the security forces for their commitment and for his protection from the demonstrators. «Thank you, you are great guys!», He said when visiting the barriers of his presidential palace. “We’ll stand by your side until the end,” shouted the uniformed men and applauded the 65-year-old.

Lukashenko’s spokeswoman Natalja Eismont denied speculation in social networks that Lukashenko wanted to flee on state television with a view to a flight of the presidential helicopter. “He worked all day in the Situation Center of the Palace of Independence checking the situation,” she said. “As the president promised, he won’t go anywhere.” Lukashenko continues to work in the palace after a helicopter flight over the city.

Up to 200,000 people

More than 100,000 people had previously called for the resignation of “Europe’s last dictator” at a mass rally despite warnings from the police and the military about a ban on demonstrations. The people chanted in chants on Independence Square in Minsk. This was followed by a peaceful march of protest through Minsk – and close observation of uniformed men. The police repeatedly warned against participating in the unauthorized rally in loudspeaker announcements.

Head of state Lukashenko had threatened to take “tough action” to bring the ex-Soviet republic back to peace. However, the crowd on the streets was so big that the police couldn’t do anything about it. Some opposition platforms on the Internet estimated the number at 200,000 people – about as many as on Sunday a week ago, when there were protests of this magnitude for the first time. They are considered historical.

The Ministry of Defense warned in a statement: “If there should be disturbances of order or unrest in these places, you will no longer have to deal with the militia, but with the army.” Lukashenko had repeatedly threatened to use the army to secure his power if necessary. Many citizens in Belarus have been emphasizing for weeks that they are no longer afraid of “Europe’s last dictator”.

Biggest crisis in the country

In other cities, too, there have been daily protests and strikes in state-run companies since the controversial presidential election on August 9th. The presidential election, accompanied by allegations of unprecedented fraud, sparked the country’s biggest domestic political crisis. After 26 years in power, Lukashenko had won the presidential election for the sixth time in a row with 80 percent of the vote.

The opposition claims victory for the 37-year-old foreign language teacher Svetlana Tichanowskaja. She fled to the EU’s neighboring country, Lithuania, fearing for her safety and that of her children. From there she tries to control the movement with video messages. The EU did not recognize the election following the fraud allegations and the subsequent police violence against peaceful demonstrators. Countries like Russia and China, on the other hand, congratulated Lukashenko on his victory.

In the first days of the protests there had been massive police violence against the peaceful demonstrators. Hundreds of people were injured. The number of deaths rose from three to four on Saturday. As the Wesna Human Rights Center announced, a 28-year-old who had been missing since August 12 was found in a park. The cause of death was unclear.

Lukashenko rejects dialogue

With the support of the EU and Russia, the opposition has called on the power apparatus to engage in a dialogue to find a way out of the crisis. Lukashenko refused. During a visit to the armed forces in the Grodno area in the west of the country on Saturday, he once again made it clear that he sees the protests being controlled from abroad – namely from the EU and NATO neighbors Poland and Lithuania. He did not provide any evidence, but he also claimed that there were NATO troop movements directed against Belarus on the western border.

The head of state put the armed forces in full combat readiness – for the first time in his quarter of a century in power, he said. Lukashenko also appeared in Grodno at a rally in front of supporters. He warned of a revolution and said that in support of Tichanovskaya, NATO was ready to invade the country. Defense Minister Viktor Chrenin warned that in such a case, neighboring Russia would be militarily on hand.

Advice: new elections

Poland and Lithuania categorically rejected the accusations as unfounded public opinion. “The regime is trying to divert attention at all costs from the internal problems of Belarus by making completely unfounded statements about imaginary external threats,” said Lithuanian head of state Gitanas Nauseda in Vilnius on Sunday the BNS agency.

The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states are a basis of international law, for which Poland always advocates. This is what the foreign policy advisor to President Andrzej Duda, Krzysztof Szczerski, said, according to the PAP agency. “We are therefore saddened and astonished that the propaganda of the leadership of Belarus suggests that Poland intends to violate the territorial integrity of this country.”

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said in an interview with Euronews in his neighboring country, which is closely connected to Belarus, that he would call new elections to replace Lukashenko in order to solve the crisis. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Minsk forbade such advice and recommended Selensky to take care of his country’s problems.

Anf / sda

Published: 08/23/2020, 7:04 pm–