Thousands of people gather for a protest in Independence Square. Demonstrators take to the streets in the Belarusian capital and other cities and remain pressured to oust President Lukashenko.
Ulf Mauder | picture alliance via Getty Images
Tens of thousands of protesters marched in Belarus’ capital Minsk over the weekend, demanding the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko following his contested re-election earlier this month.
Protesters marched on Sunday to Lukashenko’s residence on Independence Square, branding red and white flags to symbolize their opposition to the president and to sing for the longtime ruler to resign and hold new elections.
One Reuters witness estimated that as many as 200,000 people could be seen rallying in central Minsk for the second consecutive week. State television suggested the demonstration consisted of 20,000 people.
Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, claimed a landslide victory in the August 9 presidential election, after official results gave him his sixth term in office with 80% of the vote.
Opposition protesters have since taken to the streets to express their anger over allegations of harassment and reports of police violence.
Lukashenko has denied allegations of electoral fraud and claimed he won the election honestly. The 65-year-old also ruled out holding another vote and vowed to crush the unrest.
The president was shown in footage of the state flying over the protesters in a helicopter on Sunday before landing at his residence and coming up with body armor and carrying an assault rifle.
Shortly afterwards, a separate video circulated by state media showed the president thanking firefighters outside his residence, causing an outburst of applause from security guards.
The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko is holding a meeting with members of the Security Council of Belarus.
Andrei Stasevich | TASS | Getty Images
Thousands of protesters have been arrested and at least four people have been killed since the election.
Human Rights Watch described the ongoing crackdown as “systemically brutal”, while Amnesty International accused the Belarusian authorities of “complete contempt” for human rights.
“I believe this is the end of Lukashenko,” Mark McNamee, director for Europe at research and advisory firm DuckerFrontier, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Europe” on Monday.
“It will take time to play out, but he has lost all legitimacy domestically, both internationally with the EU, as well as with Russia,” McNamee said.
Russia intervention would be ‘dangerous’
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who challenged the 65-year-old president after her husband was beaten and imprisoned in the elections, condemned the result and called for the creation of a legal mechanism that could ensure a new, fair presidential election. .
The 37-year-old has since fled to Lithuania amid fears for the safety of her family. She received about 10% of the vote on August 9, according to official results.
The European Union announced last week that it intends to impose sanctions on Belarusian officials following the country’s contested presidential election.
European Council President Charles Michel said in a video card that the bloc would soon impose sanctions on a “substantial number” of individuals responsible for violence, repression and election fraud.
The bloc had previously described the vote as “neither free nor fair.”
Presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya (front) talks to reporters outside the office of the Belarusian Central Election Commission. Belarus will hold presidential elections on August 9, 2020.
Natalia Fedosenko | TASS | Getty Images
On Saturday, Belarus’ Lukashenko claimed that NATO’s military alliance had built up military forces in Poland and Lithuania, two countries bordering Belarus on the west.
NATO has denied the allegations.
Andrew Wood, a former British ambassador to Russia, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday that the perspective of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who would be interviewed directly in Belarus’ post-election crisis, could not be be excluded.
“It is possible, but it would be dangerous,” he warned. “What is happening in Belarus is exactly what Putin and his colleagues fear could happen in Russia. That is, the people themselves would become their enemy.”
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