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– You cannot deport an entire village, the resistance will continue, says Svetlana Tikhanovskaja.
NRK meets her in Lithuania, where she is in exile.
She says that even though leaders have been taken, there are many other protesters who are willing to take command.
Believe that violence will strengthen resistance
“These methods will only strengthen the resistance of the Alexander Lukashenko regime,” Tikhanovskaya said.
The 37-year-old has been in exile in Lithuania since August 11. After the presidential elections in Belarus on August 9, she declared herself the rightful winner and accused the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, of electoral fraud.
On Monday it was reported that more than 600 people have been arrested following protests and demonstrations this weekend. Several people are missing, including one of the opposition leaders. The opposition coordination office says Maria Kolesnikova was abducted by strangers while she was in the center of the capital, Minsk.
– I know she was kidnapped, I don’t know by whom. They just told me that it is on the border with Ukraine. I have not received any confirmation of this from herself, says Tikhanovskaya.
He says that yesterday it became known that Olga Kovalkova, another of the opposition leaders, had been deported to Poland. Now it seems that the same thing has happened to Maria Kolesnikova.
Says the protests will continue
– They will try to stop the protests in the country, but expelling the leaders will not mean any change in the situation.
– But aren’t people afraid of what happened?
– Of course people are afraid, but people have been afraid for 26 years. But in recent months, sensible people in Belarus have shown that they are willing to go out and demonstrate every day. We never thought this was possible.
She believes that the use of brutal methods by the police against peaceful protesters has strengthened people’s opposition to those in power.
– Even those who did not get involved in the elections before the presidential elections, took to the streets. It says that it is not possible to reverse the trend now.
On Sunday, the streets of Minsk were filled with protesters.
Photo: AP
Meet Erna Solberg
On Tuesday, Svetlana Tikhanovskaja will meet with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
She hopes that Norway and the rest of the world will continue to pressure the Belarusian regime so that they can confront the opposition and achieve a solution to the crisis in the country.
A spokesman for the European Commission, Peter Stano, says they are working to find out where the detainees have gone. He condemns the behavior of the authorities and says it is unacceptable.
According to Santos, the EU hopes to impose sanctions on Belarus very soon. He told AFP that the commission is working to make a list of people they believe are responsible for police violence against protesters in Belarus.
