Strikes in Belarus must continue and grow, says opposition leader

Belarus’s opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has urged her supporters to take action in spite of “intimidation” by the authorities, as prosecutors recall their allies.

In a new video address from exile in neighboring Lithuania, she said: “I beg you, continue and extend strikes … do not be fooled by intimidation.”

She says that the elections on August 9 were stoned by ‘President Alexander Lukashenko’ and that they should be conducted honestly.

Many workers went on strike.

However, President Lukashenko shows no sign of backing down and activists report pressure on staff at companies by state not to take part in the strikes.

Last weekend, an estimated 200,000 anti-Lukashenko protesters stormed central Minsk, fearing a brutal opposition policeman.

In her latest message, Ms Tikhanovskaya said: “It is time to unite … you have intimidated the dictatorship.

“It shows fear for you, your strength and courage. That’s why you feel a lot of pressure today.”

Allies of Ms Tikhanovskaya on the new opposition coordination board have been summoned to the Belarus Investigation Committee (SK), as they are now accused of an illegal coup.

The BBC’s Will Vernon in Minsk reports that a lawyer for the council, Maxim Znak, arrived on Friday for questioning, and Sergei Dylevsky, organizer of strikes at the Minsk Tractor Factory, is also due to appear.

The council, which also includes prominent Belarusian cultural figures, was launched to organize a peaceful transition and pave the way for a resumption of elections.

But on Thursday, the attorney general launched a criminal case against the council, calling it unconstitutional. President Lukashenko has called some of the Protestants “Nazis.”

Media playback is not supported on your device

Maxim Znak told the BBC he was worried he could be arrested on Friday.

Traditionally loyal factory workers at state-owned companies joined the strike, in an unusual show of opposition to Mr Lukashenko.

But reports say the number of attackers has dropped due to official pressure on them. For example, those who ran out of state TV were told they would not get their jobs back.

Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.

Police also blocked the entrance to the National Academy Theater in Minsk after staff fired a crowd over the forced removal of director and former culture minister Pavel Latushko, who was publicly calling for new elections.

Ms Tikhanovskaya has called on European leaders to help establish a dialogue with the authorities. The EU has already announced sanctions against Mr Lukashenko. The nation of 9.5 million has long had frosty relations with the EU.

The President of Belarus has been in power for 26 years, and remains an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, although he has resisted Russian pressure for deeper integration.

On Thursday, President Putin discussed the crisis in Belarus with European Council President Charles Michel by telephone. The Kremlin says Mr Putin “insists that any pressure on the leadership of the sovereign Belarussian state and any outside interference in the internal processes taking place there would be counterproductive”.

Mr Lukashenko’s victory has been overshadowed by major international powers.

Fears of arrest as the first optimism grows

By Jonah Fisher, BBC News, Minsk

Many of Belarus’s opposition members are already in prison if, in the case of presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, they are deported.

That the opening of this criminal case could pave the way for the arrest of many of those who remained. Appointed by Ms Tikhanovskaya, the members of the Coordination Council are a mix of artists, figures from society, journalists and business people.

Thoughts here in Minsk have already started to turn after the weekend. Last Sunday, the opposition galvanized an enormous demonstration of several hundred thousand people. Another rally on Sunday is planned and it appears that President Lukashenko intends to prevent a recurrence.

After a period in which the Omon policemen for the most part withdrew, they are now ordered to take to the streets.

The thuggery of the first days after the election has not returned, but understandably people are cautious. The intense optimism of just a few days ago is rapidly returning.