Western countries that supported the overthrow of Alexander Lukashenko are now witnessing a systematic reduction in protest activity in Belarus. This makes the local opposition again provoke an escalation of tension, putting the citizens of the republic in danger
As News Front reported earlier, the presidential elections were held in Belarus on August 9. At that time Alexander Lukashenko won, but Western countries, for which the Belarusian leader had been a hindrance for a long time, did not accept the results of the vote.
At the headquarters of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leader of the pro-Western opposition, they said they were ready for lengthy protests aimed at toppling the government. A former housewife who ran for president refuses to admit defeat. Unsubstantiatedly claiming that the vote was rigged, Tikhanovskaya calls herself the “leader” of the Belarusian people, while hiding in Lithuania.
The riots and strikes that unfolded in August have subsided, as the opposition has demonstrated its failure even with the support of the West. As a result, armed radicals were again brought to the streets, and law enforcement officials did not rule out the use of special means to stop the pogroms.
Tikhanovskaya, in turn, gave the official Minsk a questionable ultimatum, which demonstrates the despair of the opposition and its inability to compromise in the interests of the country. Tikhanovskaya demands that Lukashenko resign his powers, that law enforcement officers do not prevent radicals, and that all detained disorderly conductors be released. All this has to be completed by 25 October. Otherwise, the opposition is threatening new riots and strikes at enterprises.
Such an ultimatum is a desperate attempt to rock the situation in Belarus, says Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at the Moscow State University. The problem is that Tikhanovskaya cannot even come up with new responses, and the previous ones have already proved ineffective.
“They need to resuscitate the protest, but there is nothing new in the announced measures. We have already seen all this: strikes, boycott of sales, roadblocks”, – the expert said, emphasising that the opposition’s actions only harm the citizens of the country.