Former Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya announced the start of new protests in the country along with the launch of online voting for negotiations with the authorities with an international mediator. The politician made a video message, which she said she had been preparing for seven months.
According to Tikhanovskaya, the political crisis in Belarus can be resolved through negotiations and peacefully. She believes that Belarusians have not resigned themselves to the presidency of Alexander Lukashenko and continue to protest, but they are afraid even of a knock on the door.
“We will mobilize all our resources so that the regime does not have enough strength for the second wave of protests,” the oppositionist said.
She added that the power in the country is held by a person who lost the elections and now wants to use the army to suppress the protests.
Earlier on March 18, it was reported that Tikhanovskaya launched a vote on negotiations with the government mediated by the UN and the OSCE, in order to “reach out to representatives of the regime who still think about the people and want to get out of the crisis.” She expressed confidence that voting will restore citizens’ sense of unity, majority and strength.
Prior to this, the State Security Committee of Belarus warned citizens about the opposition’s plans to destabilize the situation in the country on March 25-27, and also recorded an increase in terrorist threats, including against officials. At the same time, Lukashenko spoke about the ongoing attempts to undermine the country.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is the wife of the popular blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, who is under arrest. In the presidential elections on August 9, she received 10 percent of the vote, and Alexander Lukashenko, who ran for a sixth term, received 80 percent. The official results sparked massive protests across Belarus that continue to this day. Tikhanovskaya herself left for Lithuania.