Belarus opposition leader forms shadow government

The Belarusian opposition leader and the presidential candidate in the August elections, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, announced the formation of a “shadow government” from Lithuanian exile. Its first members are the Commissioners for Human Rights and Economic Reform.

“Alexander Lukashenko’s regime is not only illegitimate, he is no longer able to cope with his tasks. We cannot be idle and watch the country sink more and more into the crisis. ” Tsikhanouskaya said on the Telegram communication application.

Opposition politician spokeswoman Hanna Krasulin told Interfax that it was the creation of the Tsikhanouskaya team. “This is the answer to the question: Is Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya just alone, or does she have her own team? And if there is a team, who is it?”, The spokeswoman said.

“We are working together with the coordination council coordinated for a common goal,” Krasulin added in response to a question of whether members of the Belarusian opposition’s coordination council would be part of the group, initiated by Tsikhanouskaya herself in mid-August. The Belarusian authorities consider the coordination council illegal, its members face criminal prosecution, and some, like Tsikhanouskaya, have taken refuge from abroad.

The opposition leader, who left for Lithuania shortly after the Belarusian elections, also announced the first two members of her “shadow cabinet.” Human rights activist and human rights activist Hara Pahreakfast, economic reform economist and vice president of the CASE Belarus analysis center Ales Aljachnovič, will be in charge of human rights.

Belarusian journalist Franak Vyachorka, who advises the opposition representative on international relations, notes the Tut.by server at the Tsikhanouskaya meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.