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Meanwhile, the Belarusian border guard has presented its version of the arrest of opposition politician Kolesnikova. However, this does not coincide with the statements of President Lukashenko.
By Stephan Laack, WDR
In the morning, the question “Where is Maria Kolesnikowa?” She even occupied the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov. She also has no idea where exactly the Belarusian opposition is. Her abduction from Minsk the day before was unacceptable.
“The point is that you cannot accept the abduction of people at all. Of course, you have to distinguish something like that from the arrests, which are strictly legal. We do not have any detailed information about what exactly happened to Kolesnikova.” very conflicting information. ”
Peskov made it clear that the Russian government hoped the situation would be resolved. Then there will probably be detailed explanations and statements.
Kolesnikova’s car is said to have ran towards the border
In the afternoon, people from the Kolesnikowa circle said she was being held by a border guard near Gomel in the south of the country.
What was heard from the official Belarusian side sounded more like a robber’s pistol and raised more questions than clarity. Kolesnikova raced towards the border at high speed in a car with her colleagues Anton Rodnenkow and Ivan Kravzov. She somehow got out of the car as the other two drove to Ukraine.
Kolesnikova employees are in Ukraine
The Ukrainian authorities confirmed the entry of Kolesnikova’s two companions, but contradicted the Minsk representation. It was by no means a voluntary departure, but rather a deportation, the Foreign Ministry in Kiev said.
The 38-year-old man was arrested by Belarusian border guards. This was probably not entirely unintentional, speculates Valentin Stefanowitsch, director of the Vyazna Center for Human Rights in an interview with the ARD radio.
A “new kind of repression”
“We see that Maria Kolesnikova has destroyed the regime’s plans to forcibly expel her from the country by breaking her passport. In this way she was able to remain on Belarusian soil. Her future is unknown,” Stefanovich said. Hope she will be free again soon.
The expulsion and forcible deportation of prominent opposition activists is a “new type of repression” that the Belarusian authorities are actively applying.
Lukashenko presents his own version
President Alexander Lukashenko surprised in an interview with Russian state media with his own version of events. Kolesnikova tried to flee with her sister in Ukraine and was arrested while crossing the border illegally.
No talks could be held with the opposition, Lukashenko continued. All it has to offer is a catastrophe for Belarus.
Tichanovskaya calls for pressure on Belarus
Opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya addressed the international community in a speech to the Council of Europe. She said: “I refuse to accept, like millions of Belarusians, that this is the fate of my country. I refuse to accept, like millions of Belarusians, that the international community simply watches the masses of human rights being violated.”
There must be international pressure on the Lukashenko regime and sanctions are needed against individual representatives of the power apparatus, Tichanovskaya stressed.
