Belarus Opposition Leader Tsikhanouskaya Speaks At Tense U.N. Council Debate

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has spoken to the United Nations Human Rights Council despite Belarussian efforts to prevent her and other critics from giving speeches. During Friday’s turbulent session of the Geneva-based U.N. body, she demanded that the country’s authorities end violence against protestors and organize a free and fair presidential election.

A representative of Belarus, backed by Russia, China, and Venezuela, tried to prevent Tsikhanouskaya and supporters from speaking. That also happened when she mentioned the reported suffering of dissidents under longtime Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

But the president of the U.N. Human Rights Council, Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, put an end to the repeated interruptions. “If anybody doesn’t agree with this, we would have to take a vote. But I would at this stage ask the secretariat to show us the rest of the video,” she said.

In it, Tsikhanouskaya appealed for a change in Belarus. “We demand to cease violence against peaceful citizens immediately. We demand the immediate release of all political prisoners,” she said.

Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to neighboring Lithuania citing threats, added: “We demand to allow entry and free movement to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus. Finally, we demand free and fair elections. So the citizens of Belarus can freely choose their government according to the laws of the country”.

VOTE RIGGED?

The 37-year-old former English teacher rose from obscurity after the jailing of her would-be presidential candidate husband, a popular vlogger. She organized the most massive political rallies in Belarus since the nation became independent in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Tsikhanouskaya and fellow activists claim that President Lukashenko rigged the recent August 9 election. Authorities say he won the ballot with about 80 percent of the vote. But published documents with the tallies reportedly show that several precincts in Minsk, the capital, gave her 80 percent.

Among those protesting against Lukashenko‘s rule are women who have reported torture and other assault from security forces. With riot police given carte blanche by Lukashenko, the women responded with grabbing their masks and balaclavas, Worthy News monitored. That forced officers to hide their faces and retreat for fear of being identified.

Back at the United Nations Security Council, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said there had been thousands of arrests. Observers also noted hundreds of cases of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual violence and the reported torture of children.

Bachelet stressed that it was vital for the future of Belarus to “break these cycles of increasing repression and violence.”

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