Скачать с ютуб Lukashenko opponent Tsepkalo flees to Russia в хорошем качестве

Lukashenko opponent Tsepkalo flees to Russia

(28 Jul 2020) An opposition candidate who planned to challenge Belarus' longtime authoritarian leader in next month's presidential election fled the country with his children, fearing arrest. His wife stayed behind to campaign, blasting authorities for trying to use their children as hostages. Valery Tsepkalo, a former ambassador to the United States and founder of a successful hi-tech park, had been widely seen as President Alexander Lukashenko's top rival in the August 9 vote but he was denied a spot on the ballot two weeks ago. "When the number of them (supporters) started to exceed 300 and sometimes reached 500, Lukashenko made a decision to take me away as the last remaining candidate among these three big major candidates," Tsepkalo told AP. Lukashenko, 65, has run Belarus with an iron fist for a quarter century, relentlessly suppressing free speech in the ex-Soviet country of 9.5 million and cracking down on political opposition. The presidential campaign has sparked unrest in Belarus amid the coronavirus outbreak and a weakening economy. Tsepkalo said he moved to Russia with his two children after unnamed sources warned him about a looming arrest and plans to strip him of his parental rights and take his children away. "I think I'm absolutely right that I didn't give him an opportunity to talk bad things about me (Lukashenko) without being able to reply back to him, said Tsepkalo. I'm not a gift for him to be put into prison and start to trade later on with Western countries or with Russia to trade political detainees in exchange for financial support." Authorities in Belarus have not commented on his allegations. Tsepkalo's wife Veronika has remained in Belarus, joining forces with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the only opposition candidate allowed on the ballot. Tikhanovskaya, the wife of jailed popular opposition blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, earlier this week also said she took her children to an EU country after she received threats in connection with her campaign. She told a rally Friday that she is deeply worried about her husband but will not back down. Another top potential challenger for Lukashenko, Viktor Babariko, the former head of a major Russia-owned bank, was arrested last month on money-laundering and tax evasion charges that he denied as politically driven. "He's (Lukashenko) scared, he's afraid," says Valery Tsepkalo. "He demonstrated a cowardly behaviour because he can't stay openly against any opposition leader, against any opposition candidates." Human rights advocates say more than 1,000 activists have been detained during the protests since the start of the campaign. Tsepkalo said he won't be able to return to Belarus if Lukashenko is re-elected. "If people would not go out to the streets, it would be impossible for me to get back, because I would be taken as a hostage," he added. "If he (Lukashenko) takes kids as hostages, then he can definitely take every one of his political opponents as hostages." Lukashenko alleged Friday that his opponents may resort to hiring mercenaries abroad to fuel unrest at home. He offered no proof for the claim. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...