Lukashenko. (Joe Klamar AFP)
Vladimir Putin has offered to help ensure Belarus’s
security, according to its president Alexander Lukashenko, as
pressure builds on the strongman leader and opposition protesters
prepare for a show of force Sunday.
Thousands demonstrated in the capital Minsk Saturday after main
election challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya asked supporters to
rally over the weekend and keep alive a movement that poses the
biggest challenge to Lukashenko’s hold over the ex-Soviet
country.
Many gathered at the spot where Alexander Taraikovsky, 34, died
on Monday during protests against an election the opposition says
was rigged to give Lukashenko another term in office.
Demonstrators heaped flowers at the spot and the crowd chanted
“Thank you!” and raised victory signs. Police kept a low
profile.
Many held up photographs of protesters beaten during the
crackdown, while one man stood in his underwear revealing the
purple bruises on his thighs, buttocks and back.
Later thousands protested 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.
“Like everyone we are demanding free elections and the release
of those detained at mass protests,” said one employee, Andrei
Yaroshevich.
Riot police later arrived at the centre and blocked off the
entrance to the building.
The opposition is planning a major show of force on Sunday with
a “March for Freedom” through the streets of central Minsk.
– ‘I’m really afraid’ –
Facing the biggest challenge to his rule since taking power in
1994, Lukashenko called in Moscow’s help and spoke on the phone
with Putin Saturday, after warning there was “a threat not only to
Belarus”.
He later told military chiefs that Putin had offered
“comprehensive help” to “ensure the security of Belarus”.
The Kremlin said the leaders agreed the “problems” in Belarus
would be “resolved soon” and the countries’ ties strengthened.
While Lukashenko periodically plays Moscow off against the
neighbouring EU, Russia is Belarus’s closest ally and the countries
have formed a “union state” linking their economies and
militaries.
Lukashenko criticised Russia during his election campaign and
Belarus detained 33 Russians on suspicion of planning riots ahead
of polls.
Opposition protesters slammed Lukashenko for now seeking
Moscow’s aid and said they fear Russian intervention.
“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.
– ‘Will not give up the country’ –
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday urged Lukashenko
to “engage with civil society”, during a trip to Poland, which has
offered to act as a mediator.
Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old political novice who ran after
other opposition candidates including her husband were jailed,
accuses Lukashenko of rigging the vote and has demanded he step
down so new elections can be held.
The 65-year-old has ruled Belarus with an iron grip and claims
to have won the election with 80 percent of the vote.
Tikhanovskaya left the country on Tuesday for neighbouring
Lithuania, with her allies saying she came under official
pressure.
She is also demanding authorities be held to account for the
crackdown, which saw police use rubber bullets, stun grenades and,
in at least one case, live rounds to disperse protesters, with at
least 6,700 people detained and hundreds injured.
Officials have confirmed two deaths in the unrest, including
Taraikovsky — who they say died when an explosive device went off
in his hand during a protest — and another man who died in custody
in the southeastern city of Gomel.
– Call for ‘free and fair’ vote –
On Friday authorities began releasing hundreds of those arrested
and many gave horrific accounts of beatings and torture.
European Union ministers have agreed to draw up a list of
targets in Belarus for a new round of sanctions in response to the
post-election crackdown.
The leaders of the three ex-Soviet Baltic states — Estonia,
Lithuania and Latvia — on Saturday condemned the crackdown and
called for a new vote.
Lukashenko has dismissed the demonstrators as foreign-controlled
“sheep” and “people with a criminal past who are now unemployed”,
repeatedly accusing foreign governments of plotting his
downfall.
Tikhanovskaya on Friday 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.
AFP
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