Leader of the opposition stated: Only popular pressure on the authorities in Minsk will bring them to dialogue and until that is achieved, the protest will continue • The presidents of Poland, Latvia and Romania have expressed support for the democratization of Belarus
"Lukashenko is not ready for the dialogue we seek"
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AFP
Demonstrations in Belarus will not weaken and are expected to last for weeks, months and even years, the opposition leader and former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhnovsky declared today (Monday).
The remarks came as part of a special debate by the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, dedicated to the situation in Belarus.
According to the TAS agency, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko hopes that "the demonstrations will weaken over time."
She stressed: "We will be wiped out as much as it takes - weeks, months and even years."
At the same time, Tiknovskaya called on the international community not to recognize President Lukashenko's legitimacy, according to an Interfax news agency.
She and another opposition activist named Olga Kovalkova attended a rally in support of the Belarusian people in Brussels.
The opposition leader said: "Lukashenko is illegitimate in the eyes of the Belarusian people. We stole our votes in the elections. We are trying to deal with the situation on our own, but we see that Lukashenko is not ready for the dialogue we are asking for.
Tiknovskaya expressed its gratitude in light of the European Parliament's decision to support the struggle of the Belarusian people.
This message came following the publication of a letter from the presidents of Poland, Latvia and Romania, published on the independent news site Tut.by.
In the opinion of the leaders of the three countries, the EU must strengthen its support for democratization and economic development in Belarus.
The presidents proposed introducing a visa waiver for Belarus "when the necessary conditions are created".
Today, the Tut.by website published evidence of the severe violence of the police forces.
A 30-year-old programmer claims he was raped by the special police forces (OMON) when he was taken into custody in a police vehicle on August 11th.
He said, "One of the cops shoved these into my ass."
He passed a report to Human Rights Watch, where he noted that he was arrested with several other people in Minsk for no particular reason.
The man said he was beaten all over his body during the ride.
As a result, he was rushed to a hospital, suffering from concussions and injuries to his ribs and internal organs.
Meanwhile, the Belarusian Interior Ministry announced that 430 people had been arrested in demonstrations on Saturday, the independent Russian news site TV Rain reported.
According to the Interior Ministry, 11 protests took place across the country during that day.
The total number of demonstrators in them did not exceed 900 people.
These figures should be taken on limited bail in light of the Minsk authorities' interest in minimizing the number of protesters.
