MINSK / MOSCOW (Reuters) – Two leading members of a newly formed opposition council in Belarus were questioned on Friday in a criminal case over what President Alexander Lukashenko calls an attempt to seize power, after nearly two weeks of mass rallies against his 26-year-old son. year rule.
People attend an opposition demonstration to protest against results of presidential elections near Minsk, Belarus on August 21, 2020. The poster reads: “Women do not surrender. And you?” REUTERS / Stringer NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
More public figures, including an Olympic athlete, came out in opposition to Lukashenko, whose political challengers say he rigged an August 9 election.
In the latest acts of protest, the streets of the capital Minsk were paralyzed on Friday by a strike of a motorist, with hundreds of drivers leaving horns and abrupt cars in traffic.
Loosening Lukashenko’s grip poses a challenge for both the Kremlin, determined to keep its grip on its most loyal neighbor, and the West, which is sympathetic to an emerging pro-democracy movement but envious of provoking Russian intervention. .
Two sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters President Vladimir Putin that Lukashenko is likely to hold on to power for the time being, and is content to oust him.
Lukashenko, who has repeatedly vowed to crush the unrest, said the crisis would soon be over.
“This is my problem that I need to solve, and we are trying to solve it,” he told workers at a state-owned food factory named after the founder of the Soviet KGB. “And believe me, in the coming days it will be resolved.”
In a sign of his dependence on Moscow, he also confirmed for the first time that journalists were brought from Russia to the state’s state television, where workers abruptly stopped last week in protest against what they described as orders to spread propaganda send.
Two leading members of the Opposition Coordinating Council, Maksim Znak and Sarhey Dyleuski, were accompanied by dozens of supporters as they arrived for questioning at the headquarters of the Commission of Inquiry in a criminal case accusing the council of trying to seize power. .
Znak, a lawyer, said upon entering that he was afraid he might be arrested. But when he came out later, he said he had “productive conversations” and would get back to work.
The council was launched this week with the self-described purpose of negotiating a transfer of power. It includes an array of public figures, including a Nobel Prize-winning author and the honored head of the country’s most important drama theater.
The last local hero to visit Lukashenko’s desert was Vadim Devyatovsky, a former Olympic silver medalist who was a prominent supporter, who wrote on Facebook that Lukashenko was “not my president”.
NOT intimidated
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
Thousands showed up Friday, and much larger protests are expected over the weekend.
“I could not sit at home,” said Tatyana, 45, a doctor. ‘I’m not scared. Staying home means living your whole life in fear. ”
Lukashenko’s main opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has fled to neighboring Lithuania, where she has released a steady stream of video messages urging her followers to stand up for peace. On Friday, she called on more workers to strike.
At its first public news conference since the exile, the 37-year-old political novice assumed that Moscow had made no contact.
Belarus has by far the closest political, economic and cultural ties to Moscow of any former Soviet state, meaning that Lukashenko’s immediate fate is likely in the hands of the Kremlin.
The borders between Belarus and NATO are seen as vital to Russia’s defense strategy, and the prospect of Moscow allowing a pro-Western government to get there, but not to think about it. But Lukashenko is seen in Moscow as unjust and truculent, and has long had a difficult personal relationship with Putin.
The two sources close to the Kremlin said Moscow was perfectly content to see him face difficulties.
‘They’ll be happy to wait a while and see how he wrestles a bit. They do not like him much, but they still support him, “said one of the sources, who regularly talks to senior Kremlin government and officials.
The second source said: “Lukashenko will be critically weakened. You can make mincemeat out of it. Our boys will definitely use this. ”
The European Union, which has rejected Lukashenko’s re-election, called for the case against the opposition council to be dropped. But European officials aim to prevent a repeat of unrest six years ago in neighboring Ukraine, when a pro-Russian leader was rebuilt in an uprising and Moscow intervened militarily, mimicking Europe’s deadliest ongoing conflict.
This has meant a cautious approach, including to reassure Moscow that the West is not trying to circumvent Belarus from the route of Russia. “Belarus is not Ukraine: the people there are not seeking closer ties with the EU,” a senior EU official told Reuters.
Additional report by Gabriella Baczynska in Brussels; Written by Peter Graff; Edited by Catherine Evans
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