The Belarusian President, Alexandre Lukashenko, He starred this Monday in a tense face-to-face with striking workers who shouted: “Go away!”, the day after a gigantic demonstration to demand the departure of the head of state, in power since 1994.
On Monday morning, thousands of protesters gathered in front of the Minsk Heavy Vehicle Factory (MZKT) and Tractor Plant (MTZ), as well as in front of the Belarusian government television headquarters, waving red and white flags of the opposition and launching slogans hostile to power.
The president’s visit to the MZKT factory, where he arrived by helicopter, caused a collision with workers who shouted “Go away!” While he gave his speech and answered his questions.
“Thank you, I have already said everything I wanted to say. You can say ‘go’ ”, Lukashenko assured at the conclusion of his speech, visibly angry.
The president insisted that he would not abandon power. “They won’t see me do anything under pressure,” he declared. “There will be no elections until they kill me”, he reaffirmed defiantly.
However, then he clarified that he was ready to organize new elections but after the adoption of a new Constitution, without giving more details.
The pressure has been mounting since the president was re-elected on August 9 with 80% of the votes, according to the official count, despite numerous accusations of fraud.
The opposition candidate, Svetlana Tijanóvskaya, who for her part garnered 10% of the votes according to the electoral body, affirmed that she was ready to “assume [sus] responsibilities ”and govern, in a video recorded in Lithuania, where he took refuge.
Thousands of workers on strike
Employees of the iconic MTZ tractor factory, whose production is exported throughout the former Soviet Union, told Agence France-Presse that thousands of them went on strike.
“We have planned to participate in all the peaceful strikes, protest actions (…) so that the government finally realizes that it is facing its own people,” Ilia Rybkine, a 30-year-old employee, told AFP.
Maria Kolesnkikova, one of the faces of the Belarusian opposition allied to Tijanóvskaya, also spoke in front of MZKT.
On the other hand, some 600 people gathered in front of the headquarters of the government television network, according to the Belarusian press. Several of the network’s news anchors resigned in recent days.
According to local sources, employees of the Belaruskali potassium producer announced their intention to strike. Belarus is one of the largest potassium producers in the world.
Historical demonstration
These protests come a day after more than 100,000 people demonstrated in Minsk on Sunday to demand the departure of Lukashenko, after 26 years in power.
The demonstration, considered one of the largest by the opposition in the history of the country, took place without arrests and, exceptionally, was even presented in a neutral or positive manner by the state media.
Since the elections, the former Soviet republic has been the scene of demonstrations that were at first violently repressed by the authorities, leaving two dead, dozens injured and thousands of detainees.
The Belarusian authorities then gave back signals, ordering the release of more than 2,000 of the 6,700 people arrested during the protests.
On Sunday, Minsk received support from Moscow, a historic ally despite recurring tensions between the two countries.
Reactions follow one another in the West. In the UK, Foreign Minister Dominic Raab announced on Monday that his country “does not accept the results” of the presidential elections and plans to “punish those responsible” for the repression of the demonstrations last week.
European leaders will hold an extraordinary summit on Wednesday to address the crisis in Belarus.
Estonia urged to hold a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Belarus as soon as possible, due to the “potential threat” to international security.
In the United States, Donald Trump said on Monday that he was following “very closely” the situation in the country.
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