Former candidate for the presidency of Belarus Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said that the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko should resign by October 25.
If this ultimatum is not fulfilled, she promised to organize a general strike in the country.
“Two months of political crisis, violence and lawlessness have passed - and we've had enough.
On October 25th we announce the People's Ultimatum.
The regime has 13 days to fulfill three mandatory requirements, ”says Tikhanovskaya's Telegram channel.
The first demand is the resignation of Alexander Lukashenko.
The second is the end of violence in the streets, and the third is the release of all political prisoners.
“If our demands are not met by October 25, the whole country will peacefully take to the streets with the People's Ultimatum.
And on October 26, a national strike of all enterprises will begin, all roads will be blocked, sales in state stores will collapse.
You have 13 days to fulfill three conditions.
We have 13 days to prepare, and all this time Belarusians will continue their peaceful and persistent protest, ”Tikhanovskaya wrote.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a meeting with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on October 6, 2020
© Bundesregierung / Jesco Denzel / Handout via REUTERS
According to the opposition leader, “Lukashenka is killing his future and is trying to drag down officials, security officials and the entire Belarusian people.”
She described the actions of the country's authorities as "state terror."
At the end of her appeal, Tikhanovskaya called the demands to Lukashenka an "order".
“Since you were waiting for an order, here is an order.
And the deadline for its execution is until October 25, ”the former presidential candidate concluded.
Protracted protest
Let us remind you that on August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus, in which Alexander Lukashenko won 80.1% of the vote.
His main rival during the election campaign was the wife of the arrested opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky - Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
For her, according to the CEC, 10.1% of voters cast their votes.
The opposition announced its non-recognition of the election results and brought its supporters to the streets.
The first protests began even before the official voting results were announced - on the night of August 9-10.
At first, during the rallies, the demonstrators clashed with law enforcement agencies.
Subsequently, Siali actions are more peaceful.
The European Union almost immediately supported the Belarusian opposition at the official level.
Alexander Lukashenko, in turn, said that European countries directly interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya fled the country a few days after the elections, settling in Lithuania.
In response to the opposition rallies, actions in support of Alexander Lukashenko began to be held on the streets of Belarusian cities.
At the same time, the head of state himself announced a constitutional reform in the country and declared his readiness to transfer some of the powers to the government and other authorities.
On October 2, 2020, the European Union imposed sanctions on 40 Belarusian officials for alleged electoral fraud and human rights violations.
At the same time, Brussels did not impose sanctions against Lukashenka, but did not rule out that it would do so in the future if the situation in the republic does not improve.
Minsk, in response to EU restrictions, imposed retaliatory sanctions.
Protest actions in Belarus do not subside until now.
The most massive opposition events are usually organized on Sundays.
At the same time, the number of these shares is now much lower than in August.
Meanwhile, in recent years there has been an increase in the aggressiveness of the demonstrators, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic notes.
“On October 11, 25 protest actions were recorded in the country.
Compared to previous Sunday rallies, the number of protesters decreased, but the aggressiveness of the crowd, in which there were representatives of various radicalized groups (anarchists, ultras, etc.), increased, ”the ministry's Telegram channel says.
Protest action in Minsk on October 11, 2020
Reuters
The Interior Ministry stressed that the total number of protesters across the country on October 11 was about 11 thousand people.
At the same time, 713 citizens were detained "for violating the legislation on mass events."
For comparison: at one of the most numerous protests in Minsk on August 23, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, about 20 thousand protesters gathered.
At the same time, the opposition media then spoke about hundreds of thousands of protesters.
"Lukashenka's positions are stronger"
According to Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, Tikhanovskaya and her curators are trying to breathe new life into the fading protest activity with their ultimatum.
“They are trying to revive the protest.
At the same time, there is nothing new in the announced measures.
All this has already been applied: strikes, boycotts of sales, and road blockages.
They used everything from Gene Sharp's manuals, but nothing produced results: the protest gradually fades away and ceases to be massive, "the analyst said in an interview with RT.
At the same time, he noted that strikes and a boycott of goods could potentially cause serious harm to the Belarusian economy.
“Tikhanovskaya proposes a set of methods that will strike a blow to the Belarusian economy and lower the incomes of Belarusian citizens.
This is called “in spite of my neighbor's frostbite ears”: blocking roads, strikes, boycotting their own goods will by no means improve the situation of Belarusians, but worsen.
This is a very strange struggle: Tikhanovskaya imposes methods on Belarusians directed against their own wallets, against their own country, ”Shapovalov said.
Sergei Margulis, a RANEPA teacher, believes that the meeting of Alexander Lukashenko with the detained oppositionists could have prompted Tikhanovskaya's entourage to take action.
“Lukashenka's unexpected meeting with oppositionists in the KGB detention center could also become a catalyst.
In the Belarusian political science environment, there are now disputes over who benefited more from this, but, be that as it may, this move by Lukashenka could have influenced the actions of the opposition, ”the expert says.
We will remind, on October 10, the President of Belarus visited the KGB detention center, where he talked with the arrested representatives of the opposition.
The conversation lasted about 4.5 hours.
Among the interlocutors of the head of state was ex-presidential candidate Viktor Babariko.
Vladimir Shapovalov also believes that this meeting could have influenced the actions of Tikhanovskaya.
“Lukashenka met with a real opposition politician - Viktor Babariko.
A certain part of the Belarusian society really stands behind him.
In contrast to Tikhanovskaya, who is not a real politician and behind which only European emissaries stand, ”the analyst believes.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at the Women's Forum "For Belarus" September 17, 2020
© Tut.By via REUTERS
According to Margulis, Lukashenko will reject Tikhanovskaya's "ultimatum" without any doubts.
“Of course, Lukashenka will not accept the terms of the ultimatum - this is obvious.
He will simply strengthen security measures on the eve of this date and will continue to discredit Tikhanovskaya.
Moreover, as we remember, last weekend, opposition representatives also promised us an unprecedented protest, but in practice it was easily dispersed by the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, ”the expert says.
The political scientist notes that now there are far fewer prerequisites for Lukashenka's departure from power than there were at the height of the protests in August, when the Belarusian leader resisted the pressure of the street and outside players and retained power.
“Now Lukashenka’s positions are stronger than a month ago.
Nevertheless, although one should not expect any decisive assault from the opposition, the protests will not end there anyway, and the Belarusian opposition will continue its activities.
This political conflict will continue, ”the expert concluded.