He allegedly tore up his passport and jumped out of the car at the border. The “heart” of the Belarusian opposition refuses to leave the country.

MOSCOW (Aftenposten): The three women had to reform Belarus. Now Alexander Lukashenko has distributed them for each winner.

The clock had just passed 10 a.m. on Monday in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The city was about to start the day when opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova was heading through the city center, not far from the city’s national art museum. Suddenly, a minivan with masked men pulled up in front of her and dragged her into the car. She screamed: I refuse. I’m not going anywhere, according to eyewitnesses.

Soon after, the same thing happened to two of her companions. Then the three were driven to the border with Ukraine.

Her colleagues, who are now in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, say Kolesnikova tore up her passport in the car so that Ukrainian border guards could not let her pass. Then she herself had to get out of the car and return to Belarusian soil.

– She is a real hero. It is important that you understand this. She is very dedicated to what she does, said one of the two, Ivan Kratsev at a press conference in Kiev.

Recent reports suggest that Kolesnikova is currently imprisoned in Belarus.

Three Musketeers

A V sign, a clenched fist, and a heart. Peace, strength and love. This is how people got used to seeing the three Belarusian women before the presidential elections on August 9 this year.

Because when the main opposition leaders were arrested in the early summer, the women who had previously been in their shadow emerged:

Svetlana Tikhanovskaja, married to blogger and activist Sergei Tikhanovsky, who was arrested in May. She was allowed to run as a presidential candidate in the elections and is considered the leader of the opposition.

Veronika Tsepkalo, who is married to businessman Valerij Tsepkalo. Tsepkalo also tried to become a candidate, but was rejected.

And so Maria Kolesnikova. He previously led the election campaign of the bank director and jailed opposition politician Viktor Babariko.

All three traveled across the country during the election campaign and a historically high number of people turned out to pay tribute to them. However, official election results show that 80 percent reportedly voted for Lukashenko, while Tikhanovskaya received only about 10 percent. Spontaneous mass demonstrations broke out across the country and the opposition demanded new elections.

– was threatened

It has been just over a month since it looked like a united opposition could topple the “last dictator in Europe.” Today the reality is different.

Veronika Tsepkalo traveled to Poland for the first time for fear of being arrested and reunited with her husband. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is now in Lithuania. She left the country a few days after the elections because she feared for the safety of her family.

On Monday it was Maria Kolesnikova’s turn to leave the country. But she wanted it differently and instead is in prison in her home country.

Through the lawyer, he has now personally complained to President Lukashenko about the treatment he received:

“They threatened me with death. They said that I should leave the country, alive or in pieces, if I did not leave voluntarily,” he writes.

Then there was one

Kolesnikova is just one of several opposition figures who have come under pressure recently. Particularly vulnerable are the members of the opposition Coordination Council: a broad-based group that was supposed to represent the opposition in negotiations with the president.

Lukashenko has repeatedly said that the council has no real power and denies its legitimacy. Not only have the council members been allowed to follow the rhetoric, now all but one are arrested or have fled the country.

Because at the same time that new details about Kolesnikova were coming out, the famous winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Svetlana Alexeyevich, announced that men in black clothes and masks were also heading towards her. But with Alexeyevich, who is the last free member of the Coordination Council, foreign diplomats suddenly appeared. So did a massive press corps.

Part of the strategy

After the August 9 elections, it was expected how President Alexander Lukashenko would respond to the popular uprising. Would he surrender or cling to power?

Recent events suggest the latter. To achieve this, the authoritarian president has a four-pronged strategy, according to several independent experts:

1. Hit the opposition hard

The demonstrations in the first days after the elections were marked by arrests and massive violence. In recent weeks, however, more time has passed between major clashes. Instead, key members of the opposition have been accosted by unmarked cars and masked men and subsequently arrested.

2. Maintain the relationship with the security forces

To maintain power, Lukashenko relies on the support of the security services. This is one of the reasons why on several occasions he has been seen marching behind the line of the security forces with all his military equipment while shouting words of encouragement to those who must protect him.

Put Russia on the team

For a long time it seemed that Russia had not decided how to cope with the demand for new elections in the neighboring country. In recent weeks, however, Russian state media have published articles on the assembly line confirming Lukashenko’s views. It is alleged that the demonstrations were organized from outside, that they were illegal and that the Russian language was under threat.

4. Give the impression of being willing to negotiate

In an interview with the Russian press, Lukashenko has made some concessions to his own people. He says he is in favor of reforms and “may have been sitting too long.”

Lukashenko also hinted at the possibility of speeding up the next elections in the country. But he also said that it cannot happen until he has implemented the planned constitutional reform.

The opposition says the reform is a joke to ensure continuity of power in the country it has ruled for 26 years, according to NTB.

Helene Skjeggestad is a correspondent for Aftenposten in Russia.

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