The Belarusian writer and prominent opposition member Svetlana Aleksijevich has fled to Germany. Earlier today she flew to Berlin. Germany had already informed 72-year-old Aleksyevich that she was welcome if the ground in Minsk got too hot under her feet. The writer, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015, is also receiving medical treatment in Berlin.
Aliyevich is one of the fiercest critics of President Lukashenko, against whom mass demonstrations have been going on for weeks. She sits on the presidium of the opposition council that is preparing the transition from a dictatorship to a democratic constitutional state. The council has been labeled by Lukashenko as an undermining state and its members are threatened with criminal prosecution.
Watching diplomats
Been on the watch for over two weeks western diplomats at the writer’s house to avoid being arrested. A number of countries offered her asylum, but for weeks she resisted moving abroad.
Her spokesperson now says that Aleksyevich wants to return to Minsk soon, but that return depends on the political situation in Belarus.
Aleksander Lukashenko certainly does not seem to be leaving the field. Last week, he was secretly sworn in for his sixth term as president. His re-election in August is being challenged by the opposition, who say electoral fraud has been committed. Yesterday, despite increasing repression, tens of thousands of demonstrators again gathered in various Belarusian cities to demand Lukashenko’s resignation.
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