Belarus – Presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya broadcasted her backing out of the race earlier in the week on YouTube where she stated she had to “for the sake of her children”.
The presidential elections in Belarus have been met with extreme criticism from Western media as the tactics of oppression and brutality were undertaken by President Alexander Lukashenko against protesters with the use of heavily armed OMON forces that attacked the people with night sticks while pushing for arrests.
Mrs.Tikhanovskaya released a second video once she had migrated to Minsk with her children in tow with Maria Moroz, her campaign leader that they were safe.
The country goes through political turmoil as Mr.Lukashenko seeks to demotivate people from denying his 6th run as President as he had in the past with staunch Soviet-Union-era tactics and a firmness only likened to president Vladimir Putin who also praised the Soviet Union’s control of former USSR.
Three BBC journalists were attacked with motives for the law enforcement officers to destroy their equipment but were not detained as they still joined the former presidential candidate Mrs.Tikhanovskaya in Minsk.
Svetlana Tikhannovskaya’s video was delivered with her reading from readied pieces of papers, having fans speculating that President Lukashenko had used coercion tactics to force her to relinquish her presidential candidacy as she reiterated the words “I thought that this campaign had really steeled me and given me so much strength that I could cope with anything, but I guess I’m still the same weak woman that I was.”
Mrs.Tikhanovskaya 37, was a former teacher who was a stay-at-home mom until she entered the presidential race due to her husband being arrested and blocked from registering for the vote. She attempted to register a complaint about the results that gave her only 9.9% on her votes but was detained for seven hours.
65 year old Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the former Soviet country of Belarus since 1994 and shares a strong preferences for the old Soviet-controlled governance stating that any one who took part of the protests were deemed “terrorists” with the declaration of “We will wring their necks, as one might a duck”.
Lithuania has granted Mrs.Tikhanovskaya a one year visa and a place to stay for her and her children as she urges the people to stop the protests before more protesters get killed.
