On Sunday, the Belarusians will see Alexander Lukashenko’s name again on the ballot, which has ruled the country for three decades with authoritarian methods.
Elections for Alexander Lukashenko will be held again in Belarus. Four other politicians allegedly participated in pseudo-voting, but these people were carefully chosen so that they would not compete with Lukashenko. Independent observers, as usual, are not allowed to enter.
Strict control
Authorities began to control the situation in the country more strictly after the events in 2020, when Belarus last held a presidential election and the major protests took place.
When it became clear that the Central Election Commission was giving the current president 80% of the vote, a large number of people went to the streets: these protests became the biggest threat to Lukashenko’s power during his reign. As a result, demonstrations were brutally suppressed with the help of police, riot police and mass arrest. After that, the European Union refused to recognize Lukashenko’s legitimacy as president.
Now all the main leaders of the opposition at the time were in prison or forced to flee overseas, such as Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Former demonstrators who still remain in Belarus are terrified and forced to keep quiet.
Therefore, Tikhanovskaya does not invite them to go to the streets again this week.
“We called on the Belarusians to reject this deception, and the international community to reject the result,” Tikhanovskaya said. “But I want to tell the Belarusians:” You must take care of yourself until the moment a real opportunity arises. “Because people live in constant fear, and the regime only exacerbates repression.”
Mass repression
The non-governmental organization of the Bysol, which helps evacuate those at risk from Belarus, reports that it has recently received more application: 30-40 per month. Since 2020, the fund has evacuated more than 1.5 thousand people from the country.
Bysol also supports former political prisoners, helping them develop new foreign life after their release from prison.
The law enforcement seeks evidence of links to illicit human rights groups such as Viasna, and if found, can file cases of “extremism.”
Viasna’s lists now include 1,256 political prisoners in Belarus. Over the past few months, several dozen of them have been forgiven, but new people immediately replaced them.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya believes that continuing repression indicates the fear of Lukashenko and her companions.
“The trauma of 2020 is still not heaving, and he should eliminate any possibility of an uprising,” said the opposition leader. “He knew that the Belarusians did not accept him and did not forgive him. And they still wanted change.”
But Tikhanovskaya admitted that there were no signs of change in the near future.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.