Belarus is having a 'peaceful revolution,' says exiled opponent

Exiled Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has said the country is rising up in a "peaceful revolution" as authorities continued their crackdown on protesters calling for new elections.

In a video address to the European Parliament, Tikhanovskaya said the country is ready now to stand up against its long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko. Protesters are demanding the resignation of the incumbent president after he claimed a sixth term in disputed elections this month.

"Belarus is in turmoil and crisis," Tikhanovskaya said. "Peaceful protesters are being illegally detained, imprisoned and beaten. This is taking place in the middle of Europe."

She was speaking as a Belarus court ordered protest leader Siarhei Dylevsky – who has led strikes at the Minsk Tractor Factory, one of the country's flagship industrial plants – to be held for 10 days, while prosecutors pursue a criminal case against the opposition Coordination Council for attempting to seize power. Several members of the Coordination Council, which is seeking new elections, have been arrested or summoned for questioning.

Teachers have been called on to the streets on Tuesday near the education ministry after Lukashenko said this week that those who participated in mass post-election protests should be fired and "must not be in schools."

Crowds reported to be more than 100,000 have flooded the streets of Minsk for the past two weekends in a row in historic protests against Lukashenko's re-election. Government sources said the crowds last weekend were more like 20,000.

The police said on Tuesday they had opened three criminal cases after thousands of demonstrators gathered on Independence Square in Minsk on Monday for a 16th consecutive day of protests over the elections and police violence.

Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher, drew huge crowds to campaign rallies ahead of the vote that she was allowed to contest after her husband was jailed and barred from running. She fled to neighboring Lithuania after the election.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun is on a visit this week to European countries. He arrived in Moscow on Tuesday for talks, including on Belarus, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other officials.

(AFP)