Politician calls on officials to side with democratic forces amid Łukašenka absence

May 13, BPN. Opposition politician Pavieł Łatuška has called on Belarusian patriots loyal to Alaksandr Łukašenka “to take the side of the people and democratic forces.”

In a video address to the nomenklatura, published on YouTube yesterday, Łatuška said that Łukašenka was seriously ill. “Let’s say this time it will be possible to put him on his feet again. Let’s say the disease recedes for a while,” he said. “But what about next time?”

Łatuška, Łukašenka’s former culture minister and diplomat, said the regime was monolithic only as long as it had the strongman, but the strongman has grown old. “Maybe you pin your hopes on Putin? But he is 70, and he and Łukašenka are fighting a war that he’s losing today,” he added.

Łatuška has warned officials that after Łukašenka they may face chaos, economic stagnation and “Russian masters” eager to take over their office.

Łukašenka attended the Victory Day parade at Moscow’s Red Square on May 9. Footage circulated by the Russian media shows that his arm was bandaged. He struggled to move around. He was driven to a wreaths laying site, whereas the other Eurasian leaders arrived on foot, and skipped the “informal breakfast” hosted by Vladimir Putin.

In the evening, Łukašenka participated in a wreaths laying ceremony at Victory Square in Minsk but stopped short of making a speech, which was unusual and occurred for the first time during his rule. Defense Minister Viktar Chrenin was the primary speaker. The ceremony, broadcast by state television, lasted just 20 minutes.

The Belarusian strongman has not made any public appearances since.

Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja, a presidential candidate who disputed the official results of the 2020 election and protested against vote rigging, said a few days ago that she was ready to assume responsibility and be the voice of Belarusians “in order to hold fair elections and prevent chaos or a power grab by a new dictator.”