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Photo: Ulf Mauder / dpa
The exile of the opposition in Belarus continues: the prominent opposition member Olga Kowalkowa, a close confidante of the presidential candidate Svetlana Tichanowskaya, had to leave for neighboring Poland.
She was urged by the authorities in Belarus, said Kowalkowa, according to the Internet portal tut.by.
They gave her the choice of leaving the country or staying in prison for a long time.
Kowalkowa was arrested in August and had to be detained for several days. "Now I am free, but outside of Belarus," she said, according to the Polish agency PAP.
She also wants to return to Minsk.
The 36-year-old was brought to the Polish border during the night without having been informed beforehand.
From there she drove to Warsaw.
Kowalkowa is also on the Presidium of the Coordination Council, which wants to achieve a peaceful change of power in the Eastern European country.
Democracy movement protests continue
Meanwhile, the resistance of the democracy movement seems unbroken even four weeks after the presidential election in Belarus.
Despite a ban on demonstrations, the opposition has planned new mass protests against the controversial head of state Alexander Lukashenko.
The people should gather for the "March of Unity" on Sunday from 1pm CEST on Independence Square in the capital Minsk, it said in the call under the motto "One for all, all for one".
Similar campaigns are also planned in other cities.
Hundreds of thousands of participants had joined the Sunday demonstrations in the past few weeks.
The protests have been going on for four weeks - since the apparently fake presidential election on August 9th.
The democracy movement calls for Lukashenko's resignation.
The aim of the protests is to achieve the release of prisoners, to prosecute the police and to secure new elections.
Lukashenko rejects dialogue with the citizens' movement
However, 66-year-old Lukashenko refuses a dialogue with the coordination council of the citizens' movement.
The demonstrators see opposition activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya as the true winner of the vote.
Lukashenko wants to start a sixth term in November after an alleged victory with around 80 percent of the vote.
The EU does not recognize the election.
Tichanovskaya called on people on Saturday to definitely take part in the demonstration.
"Remember: together we are strong," she said in a video.
During a live broadcast on YouTube, she emphasized that people should definitely continue their peaceful demonstrations.
This is the only way to ensure that political prisoners are also released.
The opposition will continue on its way and insist on a dialogue with Lukashenko.
On Saturday she asked the UN for support.
Federal Foreign Minister Maas is threatening to take tightened punitive measures against Lukashenko
In view of the power struggle in the Eastern European country, Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas threatened to tighten punitive measures against Lukashenko.
"We as the European Union do not recognize the election and have decided on sanctions. We are now implementing them. If Lukashenko does not react, there will be further sanctions," said the SPD politician of "Bild am Sonntag".
At the same time, Maas made it clear what he expects from the leadership in Minsk: "I ask Lukashenko to negotiate with the opposition, that the election be repeated, that Lukashenko immediately stop imprisoning and mistreating peaceful demonstrators, that he respect human rights and respect the freedom of the press. "
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caw / dpa / Reuters
