Belarus army ‘combat ready’ as opposition woos Russia
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has ordered the army on his country’s western border to be combat ready
- Mass protests and strikes continue in Belarus, after Lukashenko was accused of rigging election in his favour
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, facing the biggest domestic challenge to his 26-year rule, deployed the military to the country’s borders with the European Union as he complained of unspecified security threats.
“Today, we have problems not only inside but outside” the country, Lukashenko told his security council Tuesday, the state-owned Belta news service reported. “We reacted to this and deployed combat units of our army on the western borders of our frontier and have brought them to full combat readiness.”
Lukashenko dramatically raised the stakes ahead of a planned EU summit Wednesday on the disputed presidential election in Belarus, which has been roiled by the biggest protests in its history. His move came after Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Belarus crisis in separate calls with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.
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Belarus protests against President Lukashenko continue with demands for new elections
Putin warned against “exerting pressure on the Belarusian leadership” in his talk with Macron, and told Merkel of the “unacceptability of any attempts at external interference”, according to Kremlin statements. Macron urged Russia to favour calm and dialogue regarding Belarus, according to the Elysee Palace, while Merkel said she called Putin to make “it clear that the right to freedom of speech, and to demonstrate, must be present”.
Lukashenko has appealed to Russia for support as he fights to maintain his power after claiming to have won a landslide victory with 80 per cent of the vote in the August 9 election. Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said Monday in a video message from exile in Lithuania that she was ready to act as “national leader” in place of him until new elections can be held.
The opposition in Belarus was working to establish a coordinating council to lead the country out of crisis.
A council made up of civil society representatives is to be formed on Tuesday, to organise a peaceful transfer of power in the country, a spokesman said.
