Lukashenko Critic’s Unlikely Journey From Belarus to Poland

9/22/20
A week after Belarus’ contested presidential elections, senior police investigator Andrei Ostapovich decided he could no longer stay silent. "I saw with my own eyes the lawlessness of the police and the total disregard for the rule of law. I knew I wasn't going to take part in the crackdown, I had to make a statement," he told The Moscow Times. He left a resignation letter on his desk on Aug. 16, called in sick and left for Moscow — soon after, his Instagram post featuring a picture of his resignation letter calling for fellow Belarusians to “kick out the dictator” went viral. Ostapovich says his life since then has been a rollercoaster ride that has included detention in Russia, hiding from police in a Belarusian forest and eventual escape to Poland. Ostapovich understood that his problems were just getting started soon after his arrival in Moscow, when he said he received a message from a "high-placed" friend in Belarus that said the authorities had started looking for him the day after his Instagram post and were aware that he was in Russia. Realizing he had to get out of the country, he contacted the Latvian authorities who promised him he would get a visa once he made it across the Russian-Latvian border.

Ostapovich saw what he believed to be a Belarusian police van speeding down the road toward him, and ran for cover into one of the forests that cover much of Belarus. He would spend the next five days there, drinking water from creeks and rationing the little food he had with him. "Luckily, I had brought one of those big bags of Snickers with lots of minibars. All my other stuff was left behind. As things "calmed down," Ostapovich said he started walking around 70 kilometers a day. At some point, disoriented, he said he got stuck in a swamp, leaving him "at an emotional and physical low point." Another night he said he was chased by a wild boar, making him "tremble to the core." On Sept. 3, two weeks after his Instagram post went public, he made it to Poland. Ostapovich said he was helped by a number of people along the way, but declined to give more details because of "safety concerns" for them. In Belarus, he is now facing official charges of “illegal actions of a state official.” "One day I hope to tell the full story," he said. Ostapovich believes that, in a small country like Belarus, every defection like his own will weaken the regime. "Eventually, the dam will burst."

Click to expand...

Ringo Stalin said:

French President Emmanuel Macron believes that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko should voluntarily leave office, he said in an interview with the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.
The impudence and is amazing. The head of the country where for more than a year there were (and are) mass, thousands of protests of "yellow vests" with victims, injuries, arrests, calls to leave his post as the head of another state. The usual European meanness.

Click to expand...

Rogue Valley said:

The difference is, no one in France or the world accuses Macron of ignoring French election results.
But of course you totally ignore that difference.

Click to expand...