Belarus: according to her companions, Kolesnikova would have torn up her passport to avoid forced exile
Belarusian opposition activists Anton Rodnenkov and Ivan Kravtsov attend a press conference shortly after leaving Belarus in Kiev, Ukraine, September 8, 2020. REUTERS / Gleb Garanich
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3 min
France condemns the attempt to expel opponent Maria Kolesnikova from her own country, Belarus.
Pushed by the security forces to go to Ukraine on Tuesday morning, she tore up her passport to deny herself any passage.
She is currently in detention in Belarus.
Two of his fellow opponents have arrived in Kiev.
They gave a press conference this Tuesday evening to explain their mishap.
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With our correspondent in Kiev,
Sébastien Gobert
Anton Rodnenkov and Ivan Kravtsov were kidnapped in Minsk on Monday, the same day as Maria Kolesnikova
, and taken to the Ukrainian border.
All three members of the Belarusian opposition coordinating council, they receive a car, their passports and plane tickets to several destinations.
Objective: that these opponents leave far from Minsk.
Maria Kolesnikova protests.
In the neutral zone between the Belarusian and Ukrainian posts, she tears up her passport, gets out of the vehicle and bravely returns to Belarus.
According to the story of Ivan Kravtsov, this heroic act is not surprising on the part of Maria Kolesnikova.
She proved for months her determination to bring down the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.
“
Why didn't we do like Maria Kolesnikova?
That's a tricky question,
replied Anton Rodnenkov.
I will tell you in all honesty: I admire him, but I am not capable of such actions.
This is the reason why Maria is one of the leaders of the opposition, and I am a press secretary.
"
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, leader of the opposition forced into exile in Lithuania, also described this act as "
heroic
".
“
By tearing up her passport at the border, Maria broke this system of driving out the locals.
If the authorities resort to such methods, it is because they no longer have any support.
"
The two comrades of Maria Kolesnikova do not intend to give up the fight.
They do not plan to seek political asylum in Ukraine and wish to return, despite the brutal repression that again descended on a peaceful march this Tuesday evening in Minsk.
The opposition coordination council also deplores the kidnapping of another activist.
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