The Belarusian opposition "
will not stop
" its fight to obtain the departure of President Alexander Lukashenko, even if his call for a general strike fails, its leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa said in an interview with the AFP.
“
I believe that the will of the Belarusian people cannot be changed.
Even if we don't succeed or get the effects we hope for, people will look for another way to struggle, another form of manifestation.
We will not stop
, ”she said on the sidelines of a visit to Denmark.
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The opposition movement, of which Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is the leading figure, gave the Belarusian head of state until Sunday to resign, threatening to call a general strike and intensify the protests.
The candidate for the presidential election in August, during which Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, won a much contested victory, does not know what the mobilization will be but hopes that her people "
speak with one voice
".
“
I know a lot of people are afraid of losing their jobs.
A lot of people are not ready, they are watching what is happening but are ready to live with any power,
”said the leader of the opposition, forced into exile in Lithuania.
“
But I hope we will be successful in this movement.
We don't organize the strikes ourselves, it's the people who decide whether they are ready or not.
But we hope that the Belarusian people will speak with one voice this weekend and then
”, she continued.
Read also: Belarus: more than 200 demonstrators arrested in Minsk
The 38-year-old opponent is visiting Copenhagen until Friday, where she is due to meet with the Danish foreign minister, after several visits to other capitals of the European Union.
This European tour does not mean that it refuses dialogue with the Kremlin, a key ally of Minsk, she assured.
“
From the start I have always said that we are open to dialogue with all countries, including Russia.
But as they have supported the regime, they are defending a dictatorship and therefore I see that they do not intend to speak with us,
”she declared.
"
We can do nothing about it, we are continuing our struggle regardless of the Russian position
," insisted the opponent.
"
We have always said that our revolution was not pro-Russian or anti-Russian, neither pro-European nor anti-European, but that it was a revolution within our country,
" she said.
