Onrust en repressie in Wit-Rusland na gemanipuleerde verkiezingen #9

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Op dinsdag 27 oktober 2020 17:45 schreef luxerobots het volgende:
Ik dat claim ook helemaal niet.

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Rusland is wel het land dat het meest op Wit-Rusland lijkt.

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Jouw arrogante toontje begint me wederom erg tegen te staan.

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Maar goed, het valt dus wederom allemaal wel mee in Wit-Rusland.

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Wat was je afkomst ook alweer?

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Russisch?

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Op dinsdag 27 oktober 2020 17:59 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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De Russische systemen werken verschillend, maar er zitten ook grote overeenkomsten in, en de landen delen voor een groot deel een gemeenschappelijke geschiedenis.

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Dat is relevant omdat jij op een bepaalde manier in de discussie staat.

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Meerdere keren komt jouw verhaal er toch wel op neer dat het allemaal wel meevalt in Wit-Rusland.

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Je hebt er zelfs voor gepleit om Loekasjenko tijd te geven.

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Als jij Russisch zou zijn,

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zou dat wel wat verklaren. Russen willen meestal dat de invloed van Rusland zo groot mogelijk is.

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Terwijl de meeste Wit-Russen zo snel als mogelijk van Loekasjenko af willen.

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Op dinsdag 27 oktober 2020 18:01 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Dat zinnetje was uit de context gehaald. Mijn verhaal ging er aanvankelijk over dat het zeer lastig is om de precieze omvang van de demonstraties en stakingen in kaart te brengen. Dat is in Nederland al zo bij het aantal demonstranten op de dam, en dat is in een land waar de pers niet vrij kan werken al helemaal zo.

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Op dinsdag 27 oktober 2020 19:06 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Waar vergelijk ik Tichanovskaja met een koningin? Waar vergelijk ik Loekasjenko met Hitler?

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Op dinsdag 27 oktober 2020 19:07 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Waarom geef je er niet gewoon antwoord op?

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Gezien je taalniveau in je posts ben je hier in ieder geval niet opgegroeid.

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Op dinsdag 27 oktober 2020 19:05 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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[ twitter ]

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Belarus leader seeks to punish striking workers, students

October 27, 2020 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko urged authorities Tuesday to take action against plant workers and students who participate in a strike called by the opposition as the authoritarian leader made another attempt to halt protests of his reelection.

University students left classes to march in rallies and some factory employees went on strike Monday after Lukashenko ignored an opposition demand to resign following the balloting that was widely viewed as rigged. Nearly 600 people were detained in the capital of Minsk and other cities.

Lukashenko told government officials that “those came out to unauthorized rallies in violation of the law should be deprived of the right to be a student,” adding that factory workers who want to continue working should be “freed” from those who are on strike.

“No need to persuade anyone: neither workers, nor students, doctors, teachers, officials,” Lukashenko said. “Now is the moment when everyone should choose the road in their life they would be taking.”

Belarus has been rocked by the largest and most sustained protests in Lukashenko’s 26-year rule. The rallies began after the Aug. 9 election, which officials said gave him a landslide victory over his widely popular challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

She and her supporters refused to recognize the results, saying the vote was riddled with fraud. Since then, thousands have taken to the streets regularly, demanding Lukashenko step down.

Lukashenko, who has suppressed dissent during more than a quarter-century in power, scoffed at suggestions of a dialogue with the opposition. Instead, the authorities have used stun grenades, tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to break up the rallies, and they have detained demonstrators and arrested activists. Nevertheless, the protests continued.

On Tuesday Lukashenko charged that “a terrorist war” is being waged against the government “on some fronts,” accusing the largely peaceful protesters of “radicalizing.”

Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania for fear of her safety, had urged the nationwide strike if Lukashenko did not resign, release political prisoners and stop the police crackdown. She gave the go-ahead Sunday night for the strike to begin after police in Minsk and other cities once again dispersed demonstrators with stun grenades and tear gas.

Sunday’s rally in Minsk was one of the largest in weeks and drew nearly 200,000 people.

The strike on Monday failed to spread wide enough to halt major state-run plants and factories that make up the core of the Belarus economy. Some factory workers walked off the job, thousands of students and retirees marched in Minsk, and some small business owners closed, but most state enterprises continued to operate as usual.

“The opposition managed to create separate strike hot spots — at some (plants entire) divisions are not operating; at others, separate workers are on strike. But the authorities succeeded in intimidating and quashing the protest at plants,” said Alexander Yaroshuk, leader of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Unions, an association of independent labor unions.

Police detained 581 protesters and strikers Monday across the country. Detentions continued Tuesday, as dozens of human chains sprung up again in Minsk, and students continued their rallies, joined by their professors. The Viasna human rights group said over 30 people were detained in Minsk, Grodno, Polotsk and Smolevichi.

Engineer Alexander Lavrinovich, a strike leader at the Minsk Wheeled Tow Truck Plant, was fired Tuesday, Yaroshuk said.

Workers who refused to start their shift Tuesday at Grodno Azot, a major producer of nitrogen fertilizer in the western city of Grodno, said security officers showed up at their doors.

Tsikhanouskaya urged Belarusians to support the striking workers, saying they have to resist pressure from the authorities.

“If we help plants to strike, they will help us finish what we started. The regime is afraid of this force and responds to it,” she said. “During one of the calls with strike leaders, they told me an important thing: ‘Solidarity is our best insurance from defeat.’”

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Lukashenko admits he ordered crackdown on October 25 protests

Lukashenko said protestors were posing a threat to people in residential districts

MINSK, October 28. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko admitted ordering to disperse a protest in the capital Minsk on October 25 during a speech aired by the STV channel.

"They [protestors] wanted to seize the city center, but were not allowed to do so. At dusk they marched to [seize] police stations, and, worse, to residential districts. It was already dark, and people were terrified," he said.

"What was the police supposed to do in this case?" Lukashenko continued. "It was my order, issued for the purpose of keeping ordinary people safe. They [protestors] started to break into apartments <…>. This is not normal, and cannot be tolerated."

Belarus held its presidential election on August 9. According to the Central Election Commission’s data, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko received 80.1% of the vote. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who garnered 10.12%, refused to recognize the election’s results and left Belarus. Protests erupted in the country's capital of Minsk and several other cities following the presidential vote, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers.

The deadline for the opposition-led People’s Ultimatum expired on October 25, put forward by Tikhanovskaya to Lukashenko. The demands included the resignation of the incumbent president, the release of political prisoners and an end to violence. On Sunday, an eponymous rally took place in Minsk and other cities. The event in the Belarusian capital was among the most-attended protests during the entire period of the ongoing political crisis in the country.

Belarusian law enforcement bodies detained 523 people during Sunday protests, including 160 in Minsk, with 352 currently remaining in custody, Belarusian Interior Ministry Spokesperson Olga Chemodanova said on Monday.

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US citizen detained in Belarus is released, Pompeo says

By Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler, CNN

Updated 1314 GMT (2114 HKT) October 28, 2020

(CNN)Vitali Shkliarov, an American who was detained in Belarus for three months, has been released and has returned to the US.
Shkliarov, who is a dual citizen, had traveled to Belarus this summer to visit his family and friends. He was charged with working with an opposition blogger and helping him organize illegal rallies, but his wife has said he did not work for that campaign. Before being detained, he had been critical of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Shkliarov arrived back in Washington, DC, Tuesday evening, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced. CNN has reached out to Shkliarov's family for comment.

Shkliarov is a political consultant who worked on the political campaigns of Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama. His wife, Heather Shkliarov, is a US diplomat who told reporters last month that his health was in "immediate danger" when he started to develop symptoms of Covid-19 while he was in jail.
Shkliarov was "extremely alert" and appeared to be in good health after his release despite the harsh conditions that he faced in prison, where he was subjected to interrogation and some physical punishment, said a source familiar with the matter. Shkliarov is now in a US hospital undergoing further medical checks as a precaution, the source added.
"After three months of wrongful detention and house arrest, Mr. Shkliarov has been reunited with his family and has arrived in the United States," Pompeo said in a statement to CNN.
"As the President and I have made clear, we will not tolerate foreign governments wrongfully detaining US citizens," Pompeo said.

The top US diplomat spoke with Lukashenko on Saturday to call for Shkliarov's "full release and immediate departure from Belarus," a State Department spokesperson said Saturday. This was the primary purpose of that call, the source said.
Roger Carstens, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, went to Belarus this week to bring Shkliarov back to the US. First they traveled across the border from Belarus to Kiev where he spent some time with his family before boarding the medical plane and flying to the US, explained the source familiar.

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Around 650 criminal cases opened following riots in Belarus

According to Prosecutor General of Belarus Andrei Shved, the significant increase in the number of criminal cases initiated is an indicator of the radicalization of what is happening in Belarusian society

MINSK, October 29. /TASS/. About 650 criminal cases were opened in Belarus on the facts of riots and protest actions, 70 of them have already been sent to courts, Prosecutor General of Belarus Andrei Shved said in an interview with Belarus 1 TV channel.

"At the beginning of October, about 400 criminal cases were initiated on the facts of mass riots, violent actions against law enforcement officers and officials. In mid-October there are already more than 500 of them [cases]. Today we are talking about 657 criminal cases," he said.

"This practice will continue, everyone who has infringed on life, health, public safety will be convicted. And sentenced to maximum terms of imprisonment," Shved warned.

According to him, the significant increase in the number of criminal cases initiated is "an indicator of the radicalization of what is happening in our society." "The whole movement that is presented to us as peaceful has long ceased to be peaceful. In fact, there is a war going on, a war that has taken extremely radical forms in the past few weeks," he added.

Belarus held its presidential election on August 9. According to the Central Election Commission’s data, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko received 80.1% of the vote. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who garnered 10.12%, refused to recognize the election’s results and left Belarus. Protests erupted in the country's capital of Minsk and several other cities following the presidential vote, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers.

The deadline for the opposition-led People’s Ultimatum expired on Sunday, October 25, put forward by now exiled, former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to President Alexander Lukashenko. The demands included the resignation of the incumbent president, the release of political prisoners and an end to violence. The opposition called on workers at industrial enterprises to go on strike starting Monday, October 26, if these demands are not met.

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Two Minskers facing 10 years in prison over inscription on sidewalk

In September, two residents of Minsk, a man and a woman, were detained after they tried to repaint an inscription on the sidewalk near the memorial to Aliaksandr Taraikouski, the first victim of police violence who was killed on October 10. The inscription on the asphalt said, “We Will Not Forget!” Now they are charged with two articles of the Criminal Code, for which they face up to 10 years in prison, TUT.BY said.

On September 9, Maryia Babovich, 25, used white ground color to write the first two letters of the phrase near the Pu¨kinskaja metro station, the spot where Taraikouski was shot dead by a law enforcement officer. The girl was charged with criminal hooliganism but soon released. The charges was later reclassified as “desecration of buildings and damage to property.” The investigation argued that the damage amounted at over 10 thousand rubles (approx. USD 4,000).

As a result, Babovich ended in pre-trial detention charged with both offenses, according to her lawyer Andrei Machalau.

The other defendant in the upcoming trial is Dzianis Hrakhanau, 42, who helped restore the memorial inscription after it was removed by the municipal cleaning service.

According to his mother, Dzianis was identified through street CCTV cameras. The police came after him the following day, October 10, and he spent three nights in detention.

“He was released on September 13. They said there was going to be a trial. On October 22, they came again and took him for a “talk” with the investigator. But he never returned. At first, the investigator said that he would be transferred to ´odzina, but I still don’t know where he is,” his mother Dzina said.

What is known is that Dzianis Hrakhanau is facing the same charges as Maryia Babovich, “hooliganism” (Part 2 of Art. 339) and “damage of property” (Part 2 of Art. 218 of the Criminal Code).

Dzianis’s family learned from his counsel that the man continues to maintain his innocence.

Since the beginning of the 2020 presidential election campaign, more than 500 criminal cases have been opened to target presidential nominees, members of their campaign headquarters, participants in post-election protests, bloggers and opposition activists.

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"Boven Grodno barst een wolk uit en duizenden mensen zullen sneuvelen". Lukashenko is verontwaardigd over de staking bij "Grodno Azot".

Aleksandr Lukashenko sprak zich uit over de staking bij "Grodno Azot" en over de veiligheid op de fabriek, tijdens het benoemen van nieuwe assistenten in de regio's (en in Grodno wordt dat de inmiddels voormalige minister van Binnenlandse Zaken Jurij Karaev), schrijft Tut.by.

Lukashenko hield de nieuwe assistenten in de regio's een taak voor inzake het verzorgen van de openbare veiligheid.

"Orde in de Oblasten. Dat is heel belangrijk voor ons als militaire personen".

Hij zei, terwijl hij sprak over de protestacties, dat "er in het algemeen in Minsk word rondgehangen, maar dat het ook in de regio's niet nodig is om te kalmeren".

"Vooruit er waren daar een aantal kleine acties, 1 tot 2 duizend man, maar desondanks. In het bijzonder in Grodno. Dit is wat het is: ze roepen op om "Grodno Azot" stil te zetten of een staking te organiseren. Maar wat als er een explosie komt... Er is daar een hoogtechnologische gevaarlijke vervaardiging. De hemel verhoede het dat er iets gebeurd: Grodno ligt er naast en wordt volledig bedekt. En de windroos komt uit het Westen. Daar draait die wind, boven Grodno barst een wolk uit en duizenden en duizenden mensen zullen sneuvelen. Met bezoekers erbij lopen er bijna een half miljoen in Grodno rond. Daarom is het vraagstuk inzake de openbare veiligheid, het belangrijkste vraagstuk", zei Aleksandr Lukashenko.

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Lukashenko urges to ensure safety of students who want to study

MINSK, 29 October (BelTA) – We need to ensure the safety of students who want to study and to provide them with a possibility to study in peace, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he appointed new aides in Brest Oblast, Grodno Oblast, the city of Minsk, BelTA has learned.

“Safety of students is a very important issue. We are all criticizing students today. We must understand that they are normal people except for 10-15 troublemakers. We were students once. We remember that one did something, others followed him being afraid to be called renegades, traitors. They are crowd-driven,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also commented on the intention of some students to go abroad to study. “Some want to go abroad to study. Poles, Lithuanians and others invite them. No problem. We will get them tickets tomorrow, let them go. The linguistics university teaches foreign languages. Believe me, there are plenty of people in Poland, the Czech Republic and even in Lithuania who speak foreign languages, English or German,” the Belarusian leader noted. "Someone will be invited to stay there. These will be few: physicists, mathematicians, talented people,” he added.


“If they think to study there, they must understand that they will be brainwashed there likes Poles brainwash our guys who study there, and will be sent here as a fifth column... This will not happen,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

“I have issued relevant instructions to the government. In the near future, measures will be taken on non-recognition of diplomas received abroad,” the head of state said.


Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that he speaks so openly for students to understand what can happen. “The state gives them an opportunity to get an education. But I repeat again: we need to ensure the safety of students who want to study, and this is 95% and more of the student population, and also the safety of rectors, university administration and professors,” the head of state said.

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De Belarussische media maken melding over het sluiten van de grenzen met Litouwen en Polen

Op donderdagmiddag begon informatie over het sluiten van de grens met Litouwen te verschijnen, later begon er ook soortgelijke informatie te verschijnen over de situatie op de grens met Polen en Oekraïne.

"Helaas is de grens daadwerkelijk dicht op dit moment. Voor velen was dat onverwacht, ook voor ons. Niemand had dit verwacht. Maakt u zich geen zorgen, dit is in het geheel geen oorlogssituatie. De oorzaak is COVID-19. Welke zijde de initiator is, kan ik niet zeggen", zei de wachter van dienst van een van de grenspunten van de grensdienst van Grodno aan Onliner, als antwoord op de vraag betreffende de situatie op de grens met Litouwen.

Ooggetuigen maken ook melding over een gelijkwaardige situatie op de grens met Polen. Ook klagen chauffeurs van busjes, bijvoorbeeld op het grenspunt "Bruzgi" worden busjes met passagiers niet toegelaten.

Een lezer, die probeert Belarus in te reizen vanuit Oekraïne, zei tegen het internet-portal Tut.by, dat de grensovergang "Novaja Guta" gesloten is van de kant van Oekraïne. Er staan meer dan 10 voertuigen, een touringcar en vrachtauto's. Uit Belarus worden voertuigen zonder probleem weggelaten.

Ooggetuigen maken ook melding, dat ook van de kant van de Letse grens [mensen] niet worden toegelaten.

De persdienst van het Staatsgrens comité is niet bereikbaar voor commentaar.

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Belarus closes border with Lithuania

Belarus closed its border with Lithuania on Thursday afternoon, citing safety requirements to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Lithuania's Interior Ministry confirmed to BNS.

“We have learned from the representatives of the State Border Guard Service that light transport is not allowed to cross the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, citing Covid,” Bo¸ena Zaborovska-Zdanovič, a spokeswoman for the interior minister, told BNS.

Lithuania's officials are trying to reach out to the Belarusian side to get more information on the situation, she added.

Belarus has been rocked by protests for more than two months against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The protesters claim he rigged the election in August and call for his resignation.

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Tichanovskaja zei, dat de inconsequente beslissingen van de autoriteiten getuigen over hun paniek

De voormalige presidentskandidate Svetlana Tichanovskaja zei, dat de inconsequente beslissingen van de autoriteiten in Belarus getuigen over hun paniek.

"Zowel het sluiten van de grenzen, als ook de zoveelste benoemingen, zijn signalen van het verslappen van de macht van zijn regime. Hij neemt inconsequente beslissingen, omdat hij in paniek is", klinkt het in het bericht op het officiële telegram kanaal van Tichanovskaja op donderdag,

De voormalige presidentskandidate onderstreepte, dat terwijl hij probeert om Belarus te isoleren, Lukashenko zijn eigen macht isoleert en de loyaliteit van aanhangers verliest.

"En de constante stoelendans om de posten laat zien, dat de verticalen over steeds minder mogelijkheden en motivatie beschikken om zijn orders uit te voeren", zei ze, waarbij ze onderstreepte dat dat het resultaat is van het vreedzame protest van de Belarussen.