Belarusians went to Sunday protest marches; Sweden supports the expansion of sanctions against Belarusian authorities; Lukashenko and Tsikhanouskaya made statements on amendments to the Constitution and the Ice Hockey World Championship
10 January 2021 | BYHelp-Mediagroup
Source: t.me/radiosvaboda
Another Sunday – regular protest marches all over Belarus
On 10 January, the traditional Belarusian protest rallies took place. Residents of various Belarusian cities took part. Neighbours’ marches were held in Mahiliou, Brest, Hrodna, Vitsebsk, Maladzechna, Navahrudak, and the village of Zhdanovichy.
Sometimes these were collective dances, flash mobs (like in Uruchcha) or video projects (like in Valozhyn district).
The capital also did not stand aside: Minsk districts of Serabranka, Uruchcha, Liabiazhy, Kopishcha, Kamennaya Horka, Zialiony Luh, Angarskaya, residents of Zakharau and Pulikhau Streets, Kamvolny Kambinat and many others took to the streets. Arrests began late in the evening.
Protesters were supported in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Wrocław, and Lviv.
At the same time, people with red-green flags gathered in Hrodna and Brest. One of the flags was inscribed with “YAMy siloviki”. For some reason, the word “siloviki” was written in Latin script.
Source: TUT.BY
Lukashenko: “The draft of the new Constitution may be ready by the end of 2021”; Tsikhanouskaya: “We will not accept any of his fakes instead of the Constitution”
Lukashenko gave an interview on the “Characters with Nailya Asker-zade” program on Russia-1 TV channel.
While answering a question about plans to amend the Constitution at the upcoming All Belarusian People’s Assembly in February, he clarified that “amendments to the Constitution, perhaps, if the delegates are ready for this, will be specified [at the assembly], and their introduction will be decided exclusively by a referendum”, the timeline of which will also be announced at the assembly.
“I think that within a year we will be able to develop a draft of a new Constitution, – Lukashenko continued. – And I think that by the end of next year the draft of the new Constitution will be ready. And then at a referendum people will decide whether there will be a new Constitution or not.”
In response to this, the following statement appeared on Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Telegram channel:
“Only one new Constitution can be adopted in Belarus – the people’s one. The people will write and discuss it. A person who commits acts of terror against Belarusians has nothing to do with the main law of the country. He will continue to promote his manipulative project in order to deceive us once again and buy time for himself. But we no longer believe in someone who is ready to torture and kill for the sake of power, who raises prices and taxes just so that his pockets are not completely empty. We do not believe someone who uses political prisoners to bargain and wants to stay in office for another year.
In 2020 we announced that we do not recognize him as president. This means that we will not accept any of his fakes instead of the Constitution, no secret meetings and staged referendums, and certainly, no new laws as long as he holds office with the help of weapons. New elections and a public referendum on the new Constitution should be held by the end of 2021 and without Lukashenko.”
In the near future, the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will present proposals on the Constitution draft, which will be open for discussion.
Tsikhanouskaya and Lukashenko on the transfer of the Ice Hockey World Championship from Belarus
The topic of postponing or boycotting the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship, which is scheduled to be held in Minsk and Riga, is now being actively discussed by politicians and sports officials in seven participating countries: Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Czech Republic, Sweden and the co-organizer Latvia.
The same topic is on the agenda of Tsikhanouskaya and Lukashenko.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya commented in a conversation with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs: “Most countries do not want to participate in Lukashenko’s political show. While there are more than 160 political prisoners in Belarus and thousands remain in prison, there can be no talk of any sports event. Our partners agree with us entirely on this matter.”
Earlier, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya raised the issue of boycotting the championship at meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Sweden, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Slovakia, and representatives of Switzerland.
Lukashenko, in turn, said: “We are not particularly concerned about it. If it will take place, it will take place; if it won’t, then it won’t. But there is no single reason for it not to take place [as scheduled]. It will be a complete disgrace. We are ready to hold a world championship even tomorrow”.
Source: t.me/@kyky_org
Swedish government supports expanding sanctions against Lukashenko’s regime
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde wrote a letter to the People’s Embassy of Belarus in Sweden. It states that the Swedish government supports the expansion of sanctions against Lukashenko’s regime. According to Linde, it is important for the EU to act unanimously and decisively, and sanctions are effective when they enjoy broad international support, therefore the work to expand them through international organizations will continue.
For more information on the events of 10 January 2021, please visit Infocenter Free Belarus 2020:
