Zaafarani: Tunisia echoes Egypt's opposition to Palestinian displacement    Egypt's FM delivers El-Sisi's message of solidarity to Qatar after Israeli strike    Al-Mashat reviews new economic narrative with AFD's North Africa director    Israeli strike in Doha escalates regional tensions, threatens Gaza ceasefire talks    Egypt strengthens inter-ministerial cooperation to upgrade healthcare sector    Egypt's Al-Sisi meets Tunisian PM ahead of joint higher committee session    Egypt's urban inflation slows to 12% in August, down from 13.9% in July    Israeli airstrikes target Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar vows response    Egypt's FM meets Iranian counterpart in Cairo for nuclear, regional talks    Egyptian government charts new policies to advance human development    Egypt, Spain discuss expanding health cooperation, support for Gaza    Egypt advances plans to upgrade historic Cairo with Azbakeya, Ataba projects    Egyptian pound ends week lower against US dollar – CBE    Egypt expresses condolences to Sudan after deadly Darfur landslides    Egypt hosts G20 meeting for 1st time outside member states    Lebanese Prime Minister visits Egypt's Grand Egyptian Museum    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Egypt seeks Indian expertise to boost pharmaceutical industry    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Belarusian challenger flees to Lithuania amid protests
Published in Ahram Online on 11 - 08 - 2020

The top opposition candidate in Belarus' presidential vote who refused to concede her defeat has fled the country amid a massive police crackdown on protests, Lithuania's foreign minister said Tuesday.
Linas Linkevicius' said on Twitter that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is now ``safe'' in Lithuania.
Tsikhanouskaya previously dismissed the official results of Sunday's election showing authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko winning a sixth term by a landslide. Thousands of opposition supporters who also protested the results met with a tough police crackdown in Minsk and several other Belarusian cities for two straight nights.
On Monday, a protester died amid the clashes in Minsk and scores were injured as police used tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators. Interior Ministry spokesman Alexander Lastovsky said the victim intended to throw an explosive device, but it blew up in his hand and killed him.
Lukashenko, who has led the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist since 1994, derided the opposition as ``sheep'' manipulated by foreign masters and vowed to continue the tough crackdown on protests despite Western rebukes.
Election officials said Lukashenko won a sixth term in office with 80% of the vote, while Tsikhanouskaya got 10%.
When asked on Monday if she was planning to go abroad to avoid being arrested, Tsikhanouskaya said she had no such plan and saw no reason why she would be arrested.
But after submitting her formal demand for a recount to Belarus' Central Election Commission, she said: ``I have made a decision, I must be with my children.''
She had previously sent her children to an unspecified European country after receiving threats.
Tsikhanouskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher without any prior political experience, entered the race after her husband, an opposition blogger who had hoped to run for president, was arrested in May. She has managed to unite fractured opposition groups and draw tens of thousands to her campaign rallies _ the largest opposition demonstrations in Belarus since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
``We don't agree with (the election results), we have absolutely opposite information,'' Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press on Monday. ``We have official protocols from many poll stations, where the number of votes in my favor are many more times than for another candidate.''
Economic damage caused by the coronavirus and Lukashenko's swaggering response to the pandemic, which he airily dismissed as ``psychosis,'' has fueled broad anger, helping swell the opposition ranks. The post-election protest, in which young demonstrators _ many of them teenagers _ confronted police, marked a previously unseen level of violence.
The police crackdown on protesters drew harsh criticism from the European Union and the United States and will likely complicate Lukashenko's efforts to mend ties with the West amid tensions with his main ally and sponsor, Russia.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the election was not ``free and fair,'' and added: ``We strongly condemn ongoing violence against protesters and the detention of opposition supporters.''
The European Union condemned the police crackdown and called for an immediate release of all those detained.
In a joint statement, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and the EU commissioner responsible for relations with Europe's close neighbors, Oliver Varhelyi, lamented that ``the election night was marred with disproportionate and unacceptable state violence against peaceful protesters.''


Clic here to read the story from its source.