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Belarus’ opposition council still vibrant despite pressure from government

The oppositionist underscored that the members of the Coordination Council who are currently out of the country had not lost their vote
Member of Belarusian opposition coordination council Pavel Latushko  Natalia Fedosenko/TASS
Member of Belarusian opposition coordination council Pavel Latushko
© Natalia Fedosenko/TASS

MINSK, September 8. /TASS/. The Coordination Council set up by the Belarusian opposition continues its work despite the pressure from the government, member of the council’s leadership Pavel Latushko told TASS on Tuesday.

"The government did not reach its goal. The Coordination Council has not lost its morale, it continues to work," Latushko said, commenting on the incident on the Ukrainian border with representatives of the opposition Maria Kolesnikova, Ivan Kravtsov and Anton Rodnenkov.

Latushko added that the members of the Coordination Council who are currently out of the country had not lost their vote. The politician explained that the core of the council numbers a few hundreds who are still working in Belarus plus there is the expanded structure reaching over 4,000 people. Latushko added that "widespread support of the Belarusian public" would facilitate the work of the council.

"We will involve international legal instruments, using our contacts in Russia and the EU," he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Ukrainian border service informed that Rodnenkov and Kravtsov had arrived on Ukrainian territory. According to Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Anton Gerashchenko, they were expelled from Belarus by force. Meanwhile, it is reported that another opposition member Maria Kolesnikova did not arrive at the border crossing point. State TV channel Belarus-1 informed that she had been detained during an attempt to cross the border illegally. However, according to the Belarusian State Border Committee, Kolesnikova was going through border control with Rodnenkov and Kravtsov in the early hours of Tuesday.