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| Belarusian ambassador to Slovakia resigns after supporting protesters |
| 2020-08-19 |
| [EN.ALGHADEER.TV] The Belarusian ambassador to Slovakia, who supported protesters rallying against his country’s authoritarian president, said Tuesday he has handed in his resignation, a move indicating growing dissent at a high level of government. Igor Leshchenya said in an interview that it was "a logical move" after he recorded a video statement supporting unprecedented protests that have roiled Belarus for nine days in a row since the Aug. 9 presidential election that gave a sixth term to longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko. In the statement released on Saturday, Leshchenya expressed "solidarity with those who came out on the streets of Belarusian cities with peaceful marches so that their voice could be heard," said he was shocked by the reports of mass beatings and torture of protesters and accused Belarusian law enforcement of restoring the traditions of the Soviet secret police. "As an ambassador, I’m appointed by the president, and it is expected that I follow the policies determined by him. The Foreign Ministry (of Belarus) believes my civic stance has gone beyond that," Leshchenya told independent Belarusian news outlet Tut.by on Tuesday. The president is yet to sign Leshchenya’s resignation. Leshchenya, 52, was the first top government official to support the protests against Lukashenko, who won 80% of the votes, according to the official election. His top challenger, former English teacher Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, got only 10% and denounced the vote as rigged, demanding a recount as hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets all across Belarus in protest. |
| Posted by:Fred |