Belarussian opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya says she fled the country when protests erupted in Belarus following the controversial re-election of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.
In a short clip on YouTube that appeared on Tuesday, Tsikhanouskaya said she left to reunite with her children, who she says are moving abroad after receiving anonymous threats during her campaign. She did not specify her whereabouts, but a few hours earlier, Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius tweeted that Tsikhanouskaya was in Lithuania, which borders Belarus.
“It was a very difficult decision to make for me,” said Tsikhanouskaya, 37, on the verge of tears. “I know a lot of people will understand me, a lot of people will judge me and a lot of people will hate me.”
Tsikhanouskaya’s spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment from NBC News. Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said more details would be released later on Tuesday.
Belarusian officials were not immediately available for comment.
Tsikhanouskaya officially won 10 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election, compared to Lukashenko’s 80 percent land grab, but the results were disputed by Belarusian opposition.
She became a surprise opposition star in the months leading up to the election, advising tens of thousands of supporters, along with two other female opposition figures, in the biggest show Belarus has seen displeased in decades. She promised to call a new, fair election if she won.
Tsikhanouskaya stepped into the race after her husband, a political blogger who had hoped to run for president, was jailed. Her departure is likely to be a bitter pill for her supporters, who have been protesting since Sunday over the results.
With the results of the early downpour showing Lukashenko’s huge lead on Sunday night, thousands of people took to the streets of Minsk’s capital and several other cities.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck, firing tear gas and stun grenades.
The Interior Ministry said 89 people were injured in the protests late Sunday and early Monday, including 39 lawmakers, and about 3,000 people were arrested.
The demonstrations continued Monday night, with police using water cannons and firing rubber bullets to disperse thousands of people in Minsk. Protesters also set up barricades in various areas and threw Molotov cocktails.
One protester has died, the Associated Press reported, citing the Home Office.
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In a Monday present Monday, Tsikhanouskaya, looking tired and desperate, refused to give up.
“Obviously, we do not recognize these results,” she told reporters.
Meanwhile, Lukashenko was defiant, calling the opposition “sheep” manipulated by foreign masters.
“We will not allow them to tear the country apart,” he said.
The former Soviet collective farm boss has ruled Belarus since 1994, a nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist.
But long-running grievances over stagnant economy, human rights and Lukashenko’s abuse of the coronavirus pandemic have sparked opposition this year.
The police crackdown on Protestants has drawn harsh criticism from European officials and the US and is likely to complicate Lukashenko’s attempts to avoid ties with the West amid tensions with Russia, its main ally.
In a statement on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the election was “not free and fair”, and condemned the ongoing violence.
