The legend of the sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya shows how the Belarusian government’s brutal suppression of all criticisms politicized the lives and actions of those who would not openly oppose the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko.
“I am shocked that this situation has become a political scandal,” Zimanusskaya said at a press conference in Warsaw, who arrived from Tokyo via Vienna on Wednesday. “This situation is only related to sports… All I want is to hold people accountable.”
She said that before she was publicly criticized as a traitor on TV last week, she had planned to return to Belarus and would still prepare to return when she felt safe.
“All I want is to stay in this sport and continue my sports career,” she told reporters.
In a nutshell, the counterattack against government pressure is reminiscent of the appearance of the country’s highest opposition leader Svyatlana Zihanusskaya, who became the reluctant president after Lukashenko imprisoned her husband. candidate. She told supporters that if elected, she would seek to hold a new election and resign.
Zihanusskaya, now in exile, has become an internationally recognized figure. In recent weeks, he has met with Joe Biden and Boris Johnson to lobby for sanctions against Belarus and provide more support to the country’s opposition.
Before Lukashenko launched a widespread crackdown on the opposition, she was one of three women who formed three female politicians last year. Another Maria Kalensikava (Maria Kalensikava) is on trial, accused of trying to overthrow the government and threatening national security. If convicted, she will face a 12-year sentence.
When asked about her freedom of speech in Belarus, Tsimanouskaya described her being forced to walk a tightrope in her daily life.
“I can say that I always express my opinion publicly,” she said on Thursday. “But you must always pay attention to your words, so as not to cause consequences. Yes, in Belarus, not just me, everyone is afraid of saying the wrong thing.”
Pavel Latushko, a member of the Belarusian opposition in exile, said at a press conference on Thursday that Zimanusskaya “does not participate in politics”, which prevented her from answering questions about Lukashenko. Or the opposition issue.
However, it seems hard to imagine what lies beyond Belarusian politics at this time, and even NGOs have been shut down in recent weeks due to their ties to the West.
The threat to athletes has become so great that the Belarusian Sports Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) has established a complete organization to protect those under pressure.
“Lukashenko is very aware of the influence of athletes on society… he has been trying to keep them in close contact with him,” said Alexander Opeikin, executive director of BSSF, an organization that helped Zimanusskaya in Japan. Contact the Polish authorities after seeking help. .
He believes that Lukashenko personally intervened and asked Zimanusskaya to return to Minsk, and the athlete only decided to make it public when it was clear that she was in some kind of danger.
“She understood what they took her to Minsk to do to her,” he said. “That was when she decided she had to go out.”
