[ad_1]
Minsk – After new massive protests in Belarus against the authoritarian head of state Alexander Lukashenko, the pressure on the opposition increases. Maria Kolesnikova, one of the most important leaders of the democratic movement, disappeared on Monday. The Civil Society Coordination Council assumed that the 38-year-old man had been kidnapped.
Kolesnikova’s relatives submitted a missing person report to the police, as the team of former bank chief Viktor Babariko announced at night. Kolesnikowa works for the jailed opposition member who wanted to compete against Lukashenko.
“His whereabouts are unknown,” the Coordination Council said. She was abducted by strangers in the center of Minsk together with her colleague Ivan Kravtsov and his spokesman Anton Rodnenkow. Authorities said they were unaware of the disappearance.
The 38-year-old Kolesnikova, who lived in Stuttgart for many years and managed cultural projects there, is one of the most important opposition figures who oppose Lukashenko. Some of the members of the Coordination Council had been previously arrested or left the country. Presidential candidate Svetlana Tichanovaskaya, who fled to Lithuania after the elections, spoke of an attempt by the government to hamper the work of the Coordination Council. “But that won’t stop us,” he wrote on the Telegram news channel. Tichanowskaja’s confidante, Olga Kowalkowa, had left for Poland after serving a prison sentence.
Daily demos for more than four weeks.
For more than four weeks, there have been daily demonstrations in the country between Russia and Poland, a member of the EU. The authorities take selective measures against members of the opposition. The background to this is the presidential elections on August 9. Lukashenko was then declared the winner with 80.1 percent of the votes. The opposition, however, considers Tichanovskaya the winner. The vote is criticized internationally for being grossly falsified.
“We see that the authorities have started in recent days to use terrorist methods openly instead of engaging in dialogue with society,” the Coordination Council said on Telegram. The democratic movement is calling for the resignation of the “last dictator in Europe”, as Lukashenko is called. He wants the release of political prisoners and free and fair elections.
The EU is alarmed
The EU was alarmed. “We are trying to establish the facts,” said a spokesman for the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell. It is deeply concerned about the continued repression and intimidation of the population through arbitrary or politically motivated detentions. “What we are seeing in Belarus is basically the continuous repression of the authorities against the civilian population, against peaceful protesters, political activists, people who want to express their opinion and listen to their voice.”
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius blamed the Minsk government for Kolesnikova’s disappearance and demanded her immediate release. “The abduction of M. Kolesnikova in the center of Minsk is a disgrace,” Linkevicius wrote on Twitter. “Instead of talking to the people of Belarus, the outgoing leadership is cynically trying to eliminate one by one.” This is reminiscent of Stalinist methods.
Der deutsche Außenminister Heiko Maas.
© STEFANIE LOOS
German Chancellor Heiko Maas also responded with clear criticism. “We are very concerned about Ms Kolesnikova. We demand clarity on the whereabouts and release of all political prisoners in Belarus,” the SPD politician said. image-Newspaper. “The continuous arrests and repressions, also and especially against the members of the Coordination Council, are unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, the protests entered the fifth week. There were many campaigns, especially in the universities. The photos showed students in a conference room wearing T-shirts in the colors of the historic white, red and white national flag, which is displayed during opposition protests. Again there were individual arrests.
More than 600 people arrested on Sunday
According to the Interior Ministry, more than 600 people remained in police custody at the mass demonstration on Sunday. Only just under half have been released. The observers took up around 100,000 participants. Authorities said there were 30,000 people.
Faced with the stalemate, the opposition Coordination Council wants to continue its dialogue with the EU. “We will also establish contacts with Russia and the United States,” Pawel Latuschko told a press conference in Warsaw. The former Minister of Culture left for Poland last week.
Now he said that he had left the country under pressure from the KGB secret service. “I received an ultimatum: either I will stay in the country and criminal proceedings will be initiated against me, or I will leave Belarus.” But she does not want to apply for asylum in Poland or in any other EU country. “I suppose I will soon be able to return to Belarus.” Last week, he cited a visit to an economic forum in Poland as the motive. (WHAT / dpa)
Bei der Massendemonstration am Sonntag kamen dem Innenministerium zufolge mehr als 600 Menschen in Polizeigewahrsam.
© APA/AFP
