Embattled Belarus leader jeered by workers as strikes spread
● Neighbouring countries fear Russian moves to take over in Minsk
Workers heckled and jeered president Alexander Lukashenko as he visited a factory and strikes grew across Belarus, raising the pressure on the authoritarian leader to step down after 26 years in power.
On the ninth straight day of mass protests over the official results of the 9 August presidential election that demonstrators say was rigged, Lukashenko flew by helicopter to a factory in the capital of Minsk to rally support, but he was met by angry workers chanting, “Go away!”
He told the workers: “I will never cave in to pressure.”
Lukashenko said the country could have a new presidential election, but only after approving an amended version of its constitution – an apparent bid to buy some time amid the growing political crisis.
He told the factory workers that those who intend to strike could leave if they want, but he added that the protests are ruining the economy and said the country would collapse if he steps down.
“Some of you might have got the impression that the government no longer exists, that it has tumbled down. The government will never collapse, you know me well,” the 65-year-old former state farm director shouted.
As he spoke, more than 5,000 striking workers from the Minsk Tractor Plant marched through the city, joining an increasing number of state controlled factories across the nation of 9.5 million in walking off the job.
Miners at the huge potash factory in Soligorsk also said they were joining the strike. The giant Belaruskali factory that accounts for a fifth of the world’s potash fertilizer output is the nation’s top cash earner.
The strikes follow a brutal dispersal of peaceful, postelection demonstrations last week that were met by rubber bullets, tear gas, clubs and stun grenades. At least 7,000 were detained by riot police, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. One protester was killed and hundreds were wounded.
The workers want Lukashenko to give way to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate in the election.
Lukashenko spoke twice with Vladimir Putin over the weekend and reported that the Russian leader told him Moscow stands ready to provide support in the face of what he described as foreign aggression. He claimed that Nato nations are beefing up military forces on the border with Belarus – a claim the alliance rejected.
Nato Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed yesterday that the alliance has no military buildup in the region. “We remain vigilant, strictly defensive, and ready to deter any aggression against Nato allies,” he said.
Lithuanian officials pointed at a military exercise Belarus abruptly launched near the borders of Lithuania and Poland yesterday and warned about worrying signs that Russia might be planning to use the situation to take over Belarus.
“If they consider just incorporating the country in a simple way, the consequences would be unpredictable,” Lithuanian foreign minister Linas Linkevicius said.
In Brussels, European Council president Charles Michel convened an emergency summit of EU leaders on Wednesday to discuss the handling of the election and the crackdown.
“The people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader,” Michel said in a tweet. “Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed.”
On Friday, the 27 EU foreign ministers underlined that the elections were neither free nor fair. German president Frankwalter Steinmeier urged Lukashenko to “follow the path of talks,” adding: “I appeal to the Belarusian military not to sin by using violence against their own people.” he said.