Belarus anarchy: Opposition leader flees country in eerie repeat of 'illegal' referendum
BELARUS' opposition leader has fled the country for safety after claiming the recent election was rigged - an echo of the country's 1995 "illegal" referendum that ignited current tensions.
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Belarus' main opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, today announced she had fled the country after claiming Sunday's election was rigged. Poll results gave President Alexander Lukashenko 80 percent of the vote. Yet, numerous claims of electoral fraud have marred the result.
Ms Tikhanovskaya was announced "safe" in Lithuania by the country's foreign minister.
Since the election, held two nights ago, violent protests have engulfed several cities, with intense clashes between protestors and police.
There have been a number of reports of police brutality.
Mr Lukashenko, 65, who has ruled the former Soviet country since 1994, has described opposition supporters as "sheep" controlled from abroad.
His time in office has been marred by political unrest and alleged scandals.
One of the most controversial political manoeuvres came in 1995 and is cited as having directly influenced all proceeding elections.
It was then that Parliament rejected three of the four issues to be put to a national referendum: the state status of Russian language, economic integration with Russia, the introduction of new national symbols, the president's right to dismiss Parliament, if the latter violates the constitution.
On hearing that Parliament had rejected the agenda, Mr Lukashenko threatened to dissolve the assembly if it refused to accept.
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Opposition politicians continued their objections, and many went on hunger strike in the Parliament building.
They were forcibly removed by the OMON - a branch of special Russian police, and reportedly beaten.
A conciliatory commission was called upon to resolve the conflict, which ended in Mr Lukashenko's favour.
He was able to put the referendum to the public, with it receiving 64 percent of the vote.
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It essentially gave Mr Lukashenko total control over Belarus, with the country described from then on as a "dictatorship".
Since the 1995 referendum, Mr Lukashenko has ruled largely without opposition.
In the run up to Sunday's election, Ms Tikhanovskaya galvanised the support of the public and created the country's most threatening opposition since it adopted democracy.
The 37-year-old announced her candidacy after her husband was arrested and blocked from registering for the vote.
After attempting to file a complaint about the results on Monday, Ms Tikhanovskaya was detained for seven hours.
A video later surfaced on social media of her, appearing to read from a script, urging Belarusians to accept Mr Lukashenko’s victory.
Shortly before this, in an emotional video posted by herself, Ms Lukashenko said she had overestimated her own strength.
She said: "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."
She said her decision to leave was taken "completely independently" and not influenced by anyone around her, even though many people would "condemn" or "hate" her for it.
"Not one life is worth what is happening now," she added.
"Children are the most important things in our lives."