Leader declares landslide victory, crushes protests
MINSK, Belarus — Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko warned Monday that protesters who challenge official vote results extending his 26year rule will face a harsh crackdown, deriding the opposition as “sheep” manipulated by foreign masters.
Dozens were injured and thousands detained hours after Sunday’s vote, when police brutally broke up mostly young protesters with tear gas, water cannons and flashbang grenades and beat them with truncheons.
Rights activists said one person died Sunday after being run over by a police truck, which the government denied. But the Interior Ministry said a protester died late Monday when an explosive device blew up in his hand.
Election officials said Monday that Lukashenko won a sixth term in office with 80% of the vote, while opposition challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya received 10%. Tsikhanouskaya dismissed the official results as a sham and submitted a formal request for a recount to the Central Election Commission.
On Monday night, opposition supporters again gathered in Minsk, chanting “Freedom!” and “Long live Belarus!” Heavy police contingents deployed to block central squares and avenues.
The ruthless police crackdown drew harsh criticism from European capitals and will likely complicate Lukashenko’s efforts to mend ties with the West amid tensions with his main ally and sponsor, Russia.
But Lukashenko, whose ironfisted rule since 1994 has fueled growing discontent in the exSoviet nation of 9.5 million, warned that he wouldn’t hesitate to use force again to disperse the opposition demonstrations. He argued the protesters met a fair response overnight after injuring 25 police officers and attempting to take control of official buildings in several Belarusian cities.
“We will not allow them to tear the country apart,” he said.
Lukashenko, 65, asserted the opposition was being directed from Poland and the Czech Republic, adding that some groups in Ukraine and Russia could also have been behind the protests.
“They are directing the (opposition) headquarters where those sheep don’t understand what they want from them,” he said in a dismissive reference to Tsikhanouskaya and her campaign.
Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek dismissed Lukashenko’s claim, saying his country has not organized any protests.
The Interior Ministry said 89 people were injured during the protests and about 3,000 people were detained, some 1,000 of them in Minsk.
The European Union condemned the crackdown and called for an immediate release of all those detained.