Opinion: Belarus had its future stolen — again
(Washington Post)
“The official results gave him 80 percent, but that is false. He stole the ballots, and in the process postponed once again the hopes of the people of Belarus for a new dawn.”
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“Ms. Tikhanovskaya probably won the election. But Mr. Lukashenko used his formidable state and security apparatus to falsify the outcome. … Further evidence of Mr. Lukashenko’s theft came after the election when the Internet in Belarus was switched off, and riot police flooded the streets. Does a leader who has just legitimately won 80 percent in an election need to kill the Internet and send truncheons flying? No. But Mr. Lukashenko does.”
Belarus Riots After Dictator Clings to Power in Election
By Anna Nemtsova, The Daily Beast
“Alexander Lukashenko lead official exit polls in Belarus’ presidential election around 8pm local time with almost 80 percent of the vote, with only 6.8 percent of the vote going to the main opposition candidate, 37-year-old Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who joined politics after her husband’s arrest earlier this year.”
Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya flees to Lithuania
(CNN)
“Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who stood in for her husband as an opposition candidate after he was jailed in the run-up to the vote, is now in neighboring Lithuania, that country's foreign affairs minister announced Tuesday. Tikhanovskaya fled after publicly rejecting preliminary election results that handed the longtime Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko a landslide victory.”
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/11/europe/belarus-opposition-leader-flees-intl/index.html
- “Tikhanovskaya's rallies drew some of the largest crowds in Belarus since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.” - Deutsche Welle
- “In a video published Tuesday morning, a visibly distressed Tikhanovskaya indicated she had faced an ultimatum.” - The Daily Beast
- “Suspicious video shared online.” - Meduza
Leaderless protests contest Lukashenko’s grip on Belarus
(Politico-Europe)
“Over the two and a half decades of Aleksander Lukashenko’s rule in Belarus, anti-government protests had the same scenario — after a crackdown by police and a wave of arrests, unrest quickly faded away. That's not happening now. For the third day after Sunday's presidential election — where preliminary results gave Lukashenko an 80 percent victory over opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya — protests are continuing to convulse the country of 10 million people despite a massive police and military presence.”
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“The demonstrations are largely leaderless after Tikhanovskaya left the country for neighboring Lithuania.”
“Belarus president cuts off internet amid widespread protests.” - The Guardian
President Kaljulaid mõistis Valgevenes toimuva hukka
(Postimees)
“President Kersti Kaljulaid teatas sotsiaalmeedia vahendusel, et eilseid Valgevenes toimunud valimisi ei saa vabadeks ja õiglasteks pidada.”
https://www.postimees.ee/7036387/president-kaljulaid-moistis-valgevenes-toimuva-hukka
Belarus’ ruler quashes opposition protest after widely disputed election
(AP)
“Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko warned Monday that the protesters who challenge the official vote results extending his 26-year rule will face a tough crackdown, deriding the opposition as “sheep” manipulated by foreign masters.”
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“Dozens were injured and thousands detained hours after Sunday’s vote, when police brutally broke up mostly young protesters with tear gas, water cannons and flash-bang grenades and beat them with truncheons.”
https://apnews.com/9a9a4324a3c6a913ac6cc0abaedcc342
- “How the World Has Reacted to Belarus Presidential Vote.” - Moscow Times
Europe Must Stand Up for Belarus
(Foreign Policy)
“But amid this crisis, Western foreign policy is missing in action. The failure to act decisively in Belarus, in fact, clearly shows the decline of Western influence. A profoundly erratic Washington, which seemed on the verge of offering material help to the Lukashenko regime to distance itself from Russia when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited in February, is now nowhere to be seen. The United States previously had a long-term strategy, however flawed, to support the post-Soviet states by proactively seeking to distance them from Russia: Under Trump, this is no longer the case.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/07/belarus-europe-elections-russia-pro-democracy-protests/
