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On August 19, the European Union announced the allocation of € 53 million to Belarus: € 2 million is scheduled to be allocated to help victims of political repression and violence by the authorities, € 1 million , to support civil society and independent media, the remaining 50 million euros, to fight the coronavirus. The member of the Presidium of the Belarusian Opposition Coordination Council Maria Kolesnikova viewed the EU statement as an attempt to help the Belarusian opposition and said such actions would only harm Western countries.
Maria Kolesnikova, a member of the Presidium of the Belarusian opposition Coordination Council, said in an interview with the BBC Russian Service, published on August 31, that the European Union had incriminated the Belarusian opposition when it announced the allocation of money to Belarus.
Kolesnikova is a Belarusian flute player; She began her political career in 2020, when she headed the headquarters of the banker Viktor Babariko (she was going to run for president, but was arrested shortly before the elections and was not allowed to attend). After Babariko’s arrest Kolesnikova together with Veronica Tsepkalo, the wife of another politician not admitted to the election – Valeria Tsepkalo, – entered the headquarters of the opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Tsepkalo left the country before the elections, Tihanovskaya – right after them. Therefore, Kolesnikova remains the only opposition leader still in Belarus.
“The situation can be properly assessed just by being here. It is an absolute fact. Because the way it is seen from outside or from outside can be wrong. I want to give an example: the European Union said it is allocating 53 million euros to the council coordination. With this statement very poorly framed ” – said Kolesnikova.
The EU announced the allocation of € to Belarus53 million August 19. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen explained on Twitter that 2 million euros will go to help victims of political repression and violence by government officials, 1 million euros – to support civil society and independent media, the remaining € 50 million – to combat the coronavirus, support social services and businesses (Belarusian authorities came to the EU for financial help to combat the coronavirus epidemic in April, it was assumed that about 60 million euros would be allocated to the country for this purpose) . In a sentence von der Leyen did not mention the coordinating council of the opposition.
.@EU_Commission will mobilize 53 million euros for #Belorussia:
2 million euros to help victims of repression and state violence
€ 1 million to support civil society and independent media
50 million euros in emergency support due to coronavirus for the health sector, social services and companies.– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 19, 2020
“I fully understand that the EU only had good intentions. But in conditions in which we are all under a criminal case, when we are accused of other states interfering in the internal affairs of Belarus … And in this context, the European Union It says that it allocates money to the coordinating council, which we never ask and from which we will have nothing to do … For us, of course, it was a blow. It is clear that these initiatives are important for Europeans, it is important that they understand how support the Belarusians, but in that sense, they did not support us, they prepared us for further persecution by the authorities. ” – said Kolesnikova.
Early voting in the presidential elections took place in Belarus from August 4-8, and the main one took place on August 9. Five candidates ran for president. On August 14, the CEC announced the final results of the presidential elections. According to official data, the incumbent president, Alexander Lukashenko, won with 80.1% of the voters. (has ruled the country since 1994)… Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya came in second with 10.1% of the vote. The rest of the candidates earned less than 2%. At the same time, alternative exit polls showed the opposite picture: Tikhanovskaya’s confident victory.
The elections in Belarus were held without independent international observers. Following the closure of polling stations on August 9, protests began in several cities and continue to this day. The labor collectives of the largest Belarusian companies have joined the action. The protesters accuse the authorities of fraud and demand new elections. To disperse the protesters, the security forces used special equipment, in particular in Minsk they used flash noise grenades, rubber bullets and water cannons.
During the protests, more than 7,000 protesters were arrested (many of them have already been released), hundreds were injured and wounded. According to official figures, killed four protesters.
On August 14, Tikhanovskaya announced the creation of a coordinating council for the transfer of power. On August 18, the Tikhanovskaya headquarters reported that the coordinating council was ready to negotiate with Lukashenko.
To the presidium coordinating council seven people entered: Kolesnikova, the writer, the Nobel laureate Svetlana Aleksievich, the lawyers Lilia Vlasova and Maxim Znak, the employee of the Minsk tractor plant Sergei Dylevsky, the Tikhanovskaya confidant Olga Kovalkova and the fired director of the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater, Pavel Latushko.
The current head of state said that does not accept repeating the electionsand accused the coordinating council of the opposition in an attempt to seize power.
On the fact of the creation of the council, a criminal case was opened in Belarus under art. 361 of the Penal Code (calls for actions directed to the detriment of the external security of the Republic of Belarus and its sovereignty, territorial inviolability, national security and defense capacity).
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