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In August, Alexander Lukashenko called protesters “rats” when he flew over Minsk by helicopter. Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said Lukashenko’s message was incomprehensible.
Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, in an interview with Radio Svoboda, published on November 28, criticized Alexander Lukashenko’s way of communication.
He was asked to comment on the case when Lukashenka, flying in a helicopter over Minsk on August 23, said that the protesters “fled like rats.” That same day, he flew to the Independence Palace and got out of the helicopter with a bulletproof vest and a machine gun in his hands. Lukashenko’s 15-year-old son was also armed and accompanied him.
“People have already gotten used to (you know, offensively) Lukashenka’s rudeness,” Tikhanovskaya said.
He said that Lukashenka’s message was incomprehensible.
“Or did he go out to kill people, his people, or did he go out to defend himself against something? Of unarmed people? The message was incomprehensible. But I think it is also a kind of intimidation method, when a minor is also given a weapon. No one understood then. Many evaluated differently, “added the opponent.
He considers such behavior to be a manifestation of Lukashenka’s weakness.
“A strong leader, if he considers himself a leader and believes that his people are sure that he is the president, the head of state, he does not need to prove anything. Apart from laughter, the words of the former president do not cause anything among the people. “Tikhanovskaya summed up.
Since August 9, massive protests by those who disagree with the voting results in the presidential elections have not stopped in Belarus. According to official data, Lukashenka won them, with 80.1% of the electorate voting for him (he has ruled the country since 1994). Tikhanovskaya ranked second with 10.1% of the vote. At the same time, alternative exit polls showed the opposite picture: Tikhanovskaya’s confident victory.
On August 11, Tikhanovskaya was forced to leave Belarus for Lithuania.
The Belarusian security forces violently dispersed the rallies using grenades, rubber bullets and water cannons. During the protests, hundreds of protesters were injured and wounded. According to official figures, four protesters died. Another victim, Roman Bondarenko, is known as the result of a confrontation between unknown masked persons with neighbors in the area. The conflict took place over white, red and white ribbons. The Belarus Investigation Committee said the deceased was drunk. But the doctors said that Bondarenko’s body had zero ppm of alcohol.
According to Tikhanovskaya, eight people died.
Lukashenka assumed the presidency on September 23. For the first time in the history of Belarus, the opening ceremony was not announced or broadcast on television. Several states, including the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Denmark, Ukraine and the Czech Republic, did not recognize Lukashenko’s inauguration.
On October 2, the European Union imposed restrictive measures against 40 people responsible for falsifying the results of the presidential elections and forcibly suppressing peaceful protests. On November 6, the EU imposed sanctions against Lukashenko, who considers himself president of Belarus, and 14 other Belarusian officials. Ukraine joined the sanctions. After Bondarenko’s assassination, the European Union threatened Belarus with new sanctions.
