Editor’s Note: The following is an appeal by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled to Lithuania after Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko declared himself the winner of the Aug. 9 presidential election. Public protests erupted since non-state polls show that Tikhanovskaya would have clearly won the popular vote in a fair election. International calls are growing for Lukashenko to resign. He is accused of stealing the election, which was not monitored by any reputable international election monitoring organizations. Her YouTube message was translated by Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokariuk.
Over the last several months we’ve done the impossible. Six months ago nobody believed that Belarusians would be able to unite and say no to the old government. But it happened. We came to the polling stations and made our choice, in compliance with the law, peacefully and with dignity.
I want to thank those people who were close to me, my team, teams of Valery Tsepkalo and Viktor Babaryko. I want to thank each person, each voter, who supported me and the change in our country. We, supporters of change, are a majority, and there is a documental proof of it, copies of the protocols. In places where the [electoral] committees counted votes honestly, I received from 60% to 80% support, and in Novaya Borovaya 90%.
Belarusians will never again want to live under the previous government, the majority doesn’t believe in his [Lukashenko] victory. We have always said that our choice should be defended by legal and non-violent means only. But the authorities turned people’s peaceful demonstrations on the streets into a bloodbath.
The situation is critical. I am pained to see what’s been happening in our country in the last days. For me – and I’m sure, for each of us, supporters of change – human life is the most valuable asset.
We need to stop violence on the streets of Belarusian cities. I call on the authorities to stop it and agree to a dialogue. I ask all town’s mayors to organize peaceful mass gatherings in every town on the 15 and 16 of August.
New peaceful demonstrations appear on the streets of our towns, chains of solidarity are made by women with flowers. They show the whole world that we Belarusians are open, honest people, and we are against violence.
I am grateful to the officials who refused to execute criminal orders against their citizens. I am grateful to those who were not afraid to go on strike. Thank you, workers of BMZ, workers of the electrotechnical plant, MAZ, IT companies and other collectives who joined the strike.
Let’s defend our choice together. Sign up that you voted for me, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. The link will be under the video. Please don’t stay aside; our voices need to be heard.
Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who many believe won the Aug. 9 election against dictator Alexander Lukashenko, published a YouTube message asking Belarusians to confirm their support for her and engage in peaceful rallies on Aug. 15-16.
