rferl--2020-09-05--Family Of Sanctioned Ukrainian Politician Selling Refined Oil To U.S.

The family of a sanctioned Ukrainian politician with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been selling refined oil products to the United States through an intermediary , the latest example of a Kremlin friend finding legal ways around Washington ’ s financial restrictions .
The Novoshakhtinsky oil refinery , which is owned by the wife of Viktor Medvedchuk , who heads a political council of a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine , has been selling some of its output this year to an arm of ExxonMobil via a Swiss-registered trader , an investigation by Schemes , a joint @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US : First .
Medvedchuk , who picked Putin to be the godfather of his daughter , was sanctioned by the United States in March 2014 following the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych for his role in undermining democracy in the country .
The United States called Medvedchuk a Putin “ proxy ” inside Ukraine .
The U.S. sanctions freeze any assets , including cash , that Medvedchuk has within the United States and forbids any U.S. individual or entity from conducting transactions with him .
The Novoshakhtinsky oil refinery , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rostov close to the border with Ukraine , has supplied its products to ExxonMobil at least six times in 2020 , according to U.S. import data obtained by Schemes .
The products are shipped by tanker from the Black Sea to Houston , Texas .
Novoshakhtinsky is majority owned by Oksana Marchenko , a Ukrainian TV star and Medvedchuk ’ s wife .
Government officials and politicians from the former Soviet Union often put their assets in the name of their wives , children , and other family members to protect or hide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian companies , including a controlling stake in the refinery , in early 2018 for an undisclosed sum .
Medvedchuk said later he oversees the family business but admitted that he put its ownership in his wife ’ s name to avoid U.S. sanctions .
“ My wife , Oksana Marchenko , is not in business .
She owns a business .
And I run the business .
Why can ’ t I own a business ?
Because my lovely Americans imposed sanctions on me , ” he said in a 2018 interview @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the purchase of the refinery .
ExxonMobil does not buy the oil directly from the Medvedchuk family-owned refinery , but rather through NewCoal Trading , a Swiss-based trading firm .
NewCoal is considered to be associated with the family of Russian parliamentarian Gleb Khor , who was born in eastern Ukraine , according to Russian investigative journalist Mikhail Maglov .
Though the value of the contracts with NewCoal are not disclosed , Schemes estimates that ExxonMobil may have purchased about $ 150 million worth of oil products from Novoshakhtinsky this year based on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The United States is importing record amounts of Russian petroleum products after Washington imposed sanctions on Venezuela , impacting energy deliveries from the South American nation .
Russian and Ukrainian officials hit by U.S. sanctions since 2014 have been seeking ways to circumvent the financial restrictions placed on them .
Arkady Rotenberg , a billionaire and childhood friend of Putin sanctioned by the United States , sold an oil and gas drilling business to his son , Igor Rotenberg , to escape the impact of the sanctions .
The Office of Foreign Assets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Treasury Department that enforces sanctions , added Rotenberg ’ s son to the list in 2016 .
Neither Novoshakhtinsky nor Marchenko are sanctioned by the United States .
“ OFAC must have reason to believe that [ Medvedchuk ’ s ] wife is operating the company on his behalf and legally document that standard in order to block property , ” said Brian O ’ Toole , a fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council and a former OFAC senior advisor .
“ It 's the threshold in the law that underpins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
However , he said OFAC could decide to look into the transactions if the Swiss broker is nothing more than a middleman for the Medvedchuk family to avoid sanctions , O ’ Toole said .
“ This certainly is shady and skirts the boundaries of sanctions intent , ” he said of the transactions .
A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury told RFE/RL in a statement that it takes allegations of sanctions violations seriously but does n't comment on whether sanctions should apply in individual cases .
ExxonMobil declined to comment on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Novoshakhtinsky , but told Schemes in a statement that it continues to comply with all applicable sanctions .
“ It is the policy of ExxonMobil and its affiliates to comply with all governmental laws , rules , and regulations applicable to its operations within and outside the United States and to conduct those operations to the highest ethical standards .
ExxonMobil also expects its suppliers , vendors , and contractors to comply with laws , rules , and regulations applicable to their businesses , '' it told Schemes .
With reporting by @ @ @ @

The family of a sanctioned Ukrainian politician with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been selling refined oil products to the United States through an intermediary, the latest example of a Kremlin friend finding legal ways around Washington's financial restrictions.
The Novoshakhtinsky oil refinery in Russia, which is owned by the wife of Viktor Medvedchuk, who heads a political council of a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine, has been selling some of its output this year to an arm of ExxonMobil via a Swiss-registered trader, an investigation by Schemes, a joint program of RFE/RL and Ukrainian public broadcaster UA:First.
Medvedchuk, who picked Putin to be the godfather of his daughter, was put under sanctions by the United States in March 2014 following the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych for his role in undermining democracy in the country. The United States called Medvedchuk a Putin “proxy” inside Ukraine.
WATCH: The Schemes Investigation (In Ukrainian)
The U.S. sanctions freeze any assets, including cash, that Medvedchuk has within the United States and forbids any U.S. individual or entity from conducting transactions with him.
The Novoshakhtinsky oil refinery, which is located near the Russian city of Rostov, close to the border with Ukraine, has supplied its products to ExxonMobil at least six times in 2020, according to U.S. import data obtained by Schemes. The products are shipped by tanker from the Black Sea to Houston, Texas.
Novoshakhtinsky is majority-owned by Oksana Marchenko, a Ukrainian TV star and Medvedchuk’s wife. Government officials and politicians from the former Soviet Union often put their assets in the name of their wives, children, and other family members to protect or hide them.
The Medvedchuk family purchased several Russian companies, including a controlling stake in the refinery, in early 2018 for an undisclosed sum. Medvedchuk said later he oversees the family business but admitted that he put its ownership in his wife’s name to avoid U.S. sanctions.
“My wife, Oksana Marchenko, is not in business. She owns a business. And I run the business. Why can’t I own a business? Because my lovely Americans imposed sanctions on me,” he said in a 2018 interview with one of his TV channels after the purchase of the refinery.
ExxonMobil does not buy the oil directly from the Medvedchuk family-owned refinery, but rather through NewCoal Trading, a Swiss-based trading firm.
NewCoal is considered to be associated with the family of Russian parliamentarian Gleb Khor, who was born in eastern Ukraine, according to Russian investigative journalist Mikhail Maglov.
Though the value of the contracts with NewCoal are not disclosed, Schemes estimates that ExxonMobil may have purchased about $150 million worth of oil products from Novoshakhtinsky this year based on the volume supplied and market prices.
The United States is importing record amounts of Russian petroleum products after Washington imposed sanctions on Venezuela, impacting energy deliveries from the South American nation.
Russian and Ukrainian officials hit by U.S. sanctions since 2014 have been seeking ways to circumvent the financial restrictions placed on them.
Arkady Rotenberg, a billionaire and childhood friend of Putin sanctioned by the United States, sold an oil and gas drilling business to his son, Igor Rotenberg, to escape the impact of the sanctions.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the agency of the Treasury Department that enforces sanctions, added Rotenberg’s son to the list in 2016.
Neither Novoshakhtinsky nor Marchenko are sanctioned by the United States.
“OFAC must have reason to believe that [Medvedchuk’s] wife is operating the company on his behalf and legally document that standard in order to block property,” said Brian O’Toole, a fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council and a former OFAC senior advisor.
“It's the threshold in the law that underpins OFAC's authorities,” he said.
However, he said OFAC could decide to look into the transactions if the Swiss broker is nothing more than a middleman for the Medvedchuk family to avoid sanctions, O’Toole said.
“This certainly is shady and skirts the boundaries of sanctions intent,” he said of the transactions.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury told RFE/RL in a statement that it takes allegations of sanctions violations seriously but doesn't comment on whether sanctions should apply in individual cases.
ExxonMobil declined to comment on its purchase of petroleum products that originate from Novoshakhtinsky, but told Schemes in a statement that it continues to comply with all applicable sanctions.
“It is the policy of ExxonMobil and its affiliates to comply with all governmental laws, rules, and regulations applicable to its operations within and outside the United States and to conduct those operations to the highest ethical standards. ExxonMobil also expects its suppliers, vendors, and contractors to comply with laws, rules, and regulations applicable to their businesses," it told Schemes.
With reporting by Todd Prince in Washington


rferl--2020-09-05--Taliban Delegation Arrives In Qatar, Paving The Way For Start Of Afghan Talks

A Taliban delegation has arrived in Qatar , paving the way for the start of the long-delayed intra-Afghan talks that are expected to take place in the Gulf state .
`` All members of our negotiating team have arrived in Doha .
The talks will begin once some small technical issues are resolved , '' Suhail Shaheen , a spokesman for the militant group , told the AFP news agency on September 5 .
In Kabul , Faraidoon Khawzoon , a spokesman for the High Council for National Reconciliation , said the government was ready to start direct negotiations .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is over and there is no excuse for delaying the talks , but the Taliban are still not ready to take part in the talks , ” Khawzoon tweeted on September 5 , without further elaboration .
The talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are a crucial part of a peace deal the United States signed with the Taliban in February .
Until the deal with the United States , the Taliban refused to directly negotiate with the Afghan government .
The talks were initially due to begin in March , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prisoner swap have seen the start repeatedly pushed back .
The United States has ramped up pressure on Afghans on both sides of the conflict to open up negotiations over what a postwar Afghanistan might look like , how the rights of women and minorities would be protected , and how the tens of thousands of Taliban fighters and progovernment militias are disarmed and reintegrated .

The education of girls and women is universally accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, including nearly 50 Muslim-majority nations.
But Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers have banned teenage girls from attending school after the sixth grade since they returned to power two years ago. The ban was extended in December to women in universities.
Countless protests by Afghans inside the country, pressure from the international community, and lobbying by Muslim scholars and clerics have failed to convince the fundamentalist Taliban leaders to reopen schools.
Experts are divided over whether the ban is rooted in how the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam is shaped by conservative Pashtun tribal customs and cultural practices or if it is prompted by how senior Taliban ideologues interpret Islamic teachings.
Most Taliban leaders are ethnic Pashtun, Sunni Muslim clerics. Many were educated in Deobandi madrasahs in neighboring Pakistan. Deobandism emerged as a puritanical Islamic revivalist movement in 19-century British Colonial India. Based on the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, it is a prominent strain among Islamists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tribal Influences
Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, argues that the Taliban restrictions against women are linked to social customs and cultural practices in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Most Taliban leaders come from various Pashtun rural tribal communities in these regions bordering Pakistan.
"They believe that a woman's place is either inside a house or in a grave," Yousafzai said of the basic Taliban belief influenced by the status of women in the families of clerics and religious leaders in these Pashtun regions.
“Women living in the households of the current Taliban policymakers were never educated and never left their homes,” said Yousafzai, who has tracked the Islamist group since it emerged as a ragtag militia in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in late 1994. “These women never performed any government or nongovernmental jobs.”
Yousafzai says the Taliban backs policies shaped by this worldview by leaning on Islamic teachings supporting such ideas. He says Taliban leaders rely on sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that discourage women from leaving their homes.
“Their primary belief is that pubescent girls should not leave home under any circumstance,” he said. “This is why they view women leaving home for education or work as engaging in moral corruption.”
In Afghanistan, a Muslim nation of some 40 million people, activists and rights advocates accuse the Taliban of implementing "gender apartheid" by denying women education, work, freedom of movement, and deciding how they can appear in public.
Most Muslims agree that Islam allows women to get an education. Yet the Taliban publicly says that it will allow girls access to education only after ensuring complete gender segregation and other unspecified conditions.
Almost all Afghan secondary schools were gender segregated and universities imposed a strict separation between men and women after the Taliban takeover.
Yousafzai says in conservative and traditional Muslim societies around the world, some clerics also favor restrictions on women's education, work, and their role in public life. But the governments in those countries usually oppose or limit such ideas.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia -- one of the most conservative Sunni Muslim nations -- has allowed women to drive and granted them freedom of movement without a male guardian. These steps are part of a reform and modernity drive by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
The Taliban ban on education has invited universal condemnation from Muslims globally.
“The Taliban's ban on women's education is not rooted in [the Islamic] Shari’a law but rather reflects cultural biases that contradict the teachings of Islam,” said Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States.
He said that contrary to Taliban practices, “Islam emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge and encourages all individuals, regardless of gender, to acquire an education.”
Historical Conflict
But Islamic scholars and those who have attempted to convince the Taliban about reopening girls schools offer a different explanation.
John Mohammad Butt, an Islamic scholar and former BBC broadcaster who is the only Westerner to graduate from India’s Darul Uloom Deoband, argues that the Taliban's policy on girls' education is not tribal but shaped by the century-old conflict over modern education.
“The problem is that girls' education in Afghanistan -- indeed, contemporary education in general -- has generally been introduced in Afghanistan in line with a secular agenda,” he said.
In the 1920s, a coalition of conservative clerics and tribal and community leaders deposed reformist King Amanullah Khan. He wanted to modernize Afghanistan along Turkish leader Kamal Ataturk's secular lines and championed modern education and rights for women.
This opposition to modernity and secularism continued, and conservative clerics opposed women's education and work. It became a key part of the Islamist opposition to the pro-Soviet Afghan communist governments after the April 1978 military coup that ended the Afghan monarchy. The mujahedin accused the communists of spreading immorality by promoting women’s education and empowerment.
“This has led to particular wariness on the part of conservative circles in Afghanistan with regard to girls' education,” Butt said.
'Deep Ideological Conviction'
Obaidullah Baheer, a political science lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, became part of an effort to rescind the ban by talking to the Taliban last year.
But he says the effort failed because “the ban is a matter of deep ideological conviction” for the current supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Baheer says that the most prominent Taliban leaders have studied in Pakistani madrasahs and were thus disconnected from village and tribal life.
“They have been indoctrinated by the Deobandi school of thought so that they now enforce the strictest version of Islam on the Afghan population,” he said.
He argues that the ban on girls’ schools is a deliberate policy championed by Akhundzada, who he says has endorsed Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani's Arabic language book The Islamic Emirate And Its System. In this book, Haqqani supports a fringe Islamic opinion of preferring the choice of one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives, Sawdah Bint Zam'ah, who chose to stay at home until her death.
Baheer says Haqqani ignores his other wives and other female companions that played an active role in many sectors of society and how they served as students and teachers for men.
“This fringe opinion is not held by all Taliban leaders but is one that the current absolute sovereign, the Taliban emir, seems to be convinced of,” he said.
Butt says that even Haqqani has acknowledged the principle that if there is something that women need to act upon, then that is also something that women need to learn about.
“I hope the Taliban authorities will come to realize in the not-too-distant future that education for women will make Afghan women into better Muslims,” he says. “It will enable them to make a stronger contribution to the well-being of their country.”
Two years after grappling with the issue, Western diplomats appear to be encouraging Afghan conservative and clerical circles to find ways to end the ban.
Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, recently tweeted that Afghan women must be educated and contribute to the economy to help their country stand on its own two feet.
“If change to policies is made, it will be because Afghans have asked for it, not a result of foreign requests,” he wrote.


rferl--2020-09-05--Tsikhanouskaya: Protesters Have 'Reached Point Of No Return'

MINSK -- Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya says her country is in “ deep political crisis ” as the government of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka “ doesn ’ t listen to its people.
” “ Belarusians have changed , they have woken up , ” Tsikhanouskaya said in a live stream on September 5 , as she spoke about ongoing anti-government demonstrations across the country to protest the results of the disputed August 9 presidential election .
Tsikhanouskaya said that the people of Belarus want changes and they “ don ’ t believe in the current government anymore.
” She said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point of no return ” and “ it ’ s impossible to force people to back down.
” Lukashenka is facing his greatest challenge yet with large protests around the country over the presidential poll where he claimed victory over Tsikhanouskaya with some 80 percent of the vote .
Protesters insist that the election was actually won by the opposition candidate .
Responding to questions about her plans if she takes office , Tsikhanouskaya said that she would swiftly “ free political prisoners ” and “ organize a new fair and transparent presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no plans to run for the presidency in that election .
Tsikhanouskaya spoke as fresh protests took place in the capital , Minsk , on September 5 with two unsanctioned rallies organized separately by students of the Minsk State Linguistic University and women ’ s groups .
Draped in red-and-white flags that have long been a symbol of opposition to Lukashenka ’ s rule , students staged demonstrations in several places in Minsk , including the Jakub Kolas Square and in Karl Marx Street in the city center .
Some news agencies reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the streets and pushed into vans by masked security forces .
Some of those arrested were reportedly released several hours later .
In the afternoon , thousands of women began a rally near the Independence Avenue .
Some reporters at the scene put the number of the rally participants at around 10,000 .
Several hundred people rallied in the city of Homel , where police detained at least two protest participants .
Since the election , hundreds of thousands of citizens have since taken to the streets across the country to protest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ step down , release all political prisoners , and hold free and fair elections .
Meanwhile , authorities in Poland confirmed that Tsikhanouskaya will visit Warsaw on September 9 and hold a meeting with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki .
The Belarusian opposition leader is currently in self-exile in Lithuania .
On September 5 , Tsikhanouskaya 's main representative in Belarus , Volha Kovalkova fled to Poland , saying she had been forced by Belarusian authorities to leave the country .
Kovalkova was sentenced to 10 days in jail on August 25 .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ministry of Belarus came to me and said that if I did not agree to leave , I would face long arrests , '' Kovalkova told reporters in Warsaw .
Much of Europe , as well as the United States and other countries , have rejected the election results and criticized Lukashenka 's crackdown on protesters and opposition members both before and after the vote .
In a statement on September 1 , UN human rights experts said they had received reports of 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of people held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election under Lukashenka ’ s rule has been deemed free or fair by the West .

MINSK -- Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya says her country is in "deep political crisis," as the government of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka "doesn’t listen to its people."
"Belarusians have changed, they have woken up," Tsikhanouskaya said in a live stream on September 5, as she spoke about ongoing anti-government demonstrations across the country to protest the results of the disputed August 9 presidential election.
Tsikhanouskaya said that the people of Belarus wanted changes and they "don't believe in the current government anymore." She said that the protesters had "reached the point of no return" and "it's impossible to force people to back down."
Lukashenka is facing his greatest challenge yet with large protests around the country over the presidential poll where he claimed victory over Tsikhanouskaya with some 80 percent of the vote. Protesters insist that the election was actually won by the opposition candidate.
Responding to questions about her plans if she takes office, Tsikhanouskaya said that she would swiftly "free political prisoners" and "organize a new fair and transparent presidential election." Tsikhanouskaya said that she had no plans to run for the presidency in that election.
Tsikhanouskaya spoke as fresh protests took place in the capital, Minsk, on September 5 with two unsanctioned rallies organized separately by students of the Minsk State Linguistic University and women's groups.
Draped in red-and-white flags that have long been a symbol of opposition to Lukashenka’s rule, students staged demonstrations in several places in Minsk, including the Jakub Kolas Square and in Karl Marx Street in the city center.
Some news agencies reported that up to 30 people were dragged from the streets and pushed into vans by masked security forces. Some of those arrested were reportedly released several hours later.
Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
In the afternoon, thousands of women began a rally near the Independence Avenue. Some reporters at the scene put the number of the rally participants at around 10,000.
A large group of women were blocked by a police cordon from entering Independence Square, but the women broke through the fence and managed to enter. After a while the crowd dispersed.
Several hundred people rallied in the city of Homel, where police detained at least two protest participants.
Since the election, hundreds of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets across the country to protest the results, calling on Lukashenka to step down, release all political prisoners, and hold free and fair elections.
Meanwhile, authorities in Poland confirmed that Tsikhanouskaya will visit Warsaw on September 9 and hold a meeting with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The Belarusian opposition leader is currently in self-exile in Lithuania.
On September 5, Tsikhanouskaya's main representative in Belarus, Volha Kovalkova fled to Poland, saying she had been forced by Belarusian authorities to leave the country. Kovalkova was sentenced to 10 days in jail on August 25.
"Representatives of the militia and the Interior Ministry of Belarus came to me and said that if I did not agree to leave, I would face long arrests," Kovalkova told a news conference in Warsaw.
She said she was made to lie down on the floor of a Belarusian intelligence service car driving her to the border, where she was released. She managed to board a Polish bus after the driver recognized her.
Kovalkova said that "everything that happened these past days and weeks I consider as torture. They threatened me with lengthy detention several times."
Michal Dworczyk, chief of staff to Morawiecki, told the news conference that Kovalkova had reached Warsaw overnight "in dramatic circumstances."
He added that Warsaw would offer support to Belarusian victims of repression and those fearing for their lives and well-being. Dworczyk said that since a disputed election there had been more than 100 requests to stay in Poland.
In a statement on September 1, UN human rights experts said they had received reports of 450 documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of people held in custody since the election.
With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and AFP


rferl--2020-09-06--Thousands March In MInsk In Latest Opposition Effort To Pressure Lukashenka

MINSK -- Thousands of Belarusians have marched through central Minsk amid the latest opposition-led effort aimed at pressuring President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to resign .
Opposition groups are hoping the September 6 demonstration will draw crowds comparable to past weekends , when tens of thousands of people marched through Minsk and confronted riot police .
Several columns of protesters marched along streets leading toward the city center , with many people carrying the unofficial red-and-white Belarusian flag that has become a symbol of opposition efforts .
Crowds chanted `` Long live Belarus ! ''
and `` Shame ! ''
and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ riot police were seen stringing barbed wire around several government buildings and monuments in central Minsk , and helmeted police were spotted outside several subway stations .
Videos posted to several Telegram channels appeared to show armored vehicles being staged in several locations in the city .
Protests were also reported in the city of Hrodno , in western Belarus , and the southern city of Homel .
Lukashenka , who has ruled the country for 26 years , has refused to hold talks with his opponents , and rebuffed calls to hold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won the August 9 elections with over 80 percent of the vote , something his opponents and outside observers say is false .
Opposition groups are also calling for the release of political prisoners and for an independent investigation of the police crackdown that swept up thousands in the days after the election .
Meanwhile , the country 's leading opposition figure , Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , said her country was in `` deep political crisis . ''
`` Belarusians have changed , they have woken up , '' she said in a live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where she fled in the days after the vote .
The people of Belarus `` do n't believe in the current government anymore . ''
She said that it was `` impossible to force people to back down . ''
The postelection demonstrations are the greatest challenge to date for Lukashenka .
On September 5 , two unsanctioned rallies organized separately by university students and women 's groups took place in Minsk .
News agencies reported that dozens of students were dragged from the streets and pushed into vans by masked security agents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying that 25 students were later released , while nine others remained in detention .
The protests have not been limited to Minsk .
Several hundred people rallied in the southern city of Homel on September 5 , and police detained at least two protest participants .
Tsikhanouskaya was scheduled to visit Warsaw this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials .
A top Tsikhanouskaya aide told reporters in Warsaw on September 5 that she had been forced to leave Belarus by authorities .
Volha Kovalkova said she was made to lie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ service car driving her to the border , where she was released .
She managed to board a Polish bus after the driver recognized her .
`` Everything that happened these past days and weeks I consider as torture .
They threatened me with lengthy detention several times , '' Kovalkova said .
With reporting by Current Time , Reuters , Interfax , and AFP

MINSK -- Tens of thousands of Belarusians have marched through central Minsk as part of the continuing opposition-led effort to pressure President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to resign.
Scenes from the Belarusian capital on September 6 showed massive crowds marching through the city center chanting "Long live Belarus!" and "Shame!", and carrying red-and-white flags and banners, a symbol of the opposition that has been banned by the authorities.
Shortly after nightfall, journalists were reporting that the 29th-straight day of demonstrations was over, with defenses removed and traffic resuming in front of the Independence Palace.
Police manning the cordon in front of Lukashenka's residence reportedly used tear gas on demonstrators, and at least 20 protesters at the site were detained.
A live blog of the "March of Unity" by RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported that dozens of protesters had been detained in Minsk, and that confrontations between police and demonstrators had taken place in the the western city of Hrodna, and to the east in Mahilyou.
The Belarusian rights group Vyasna placed the number of detentions of protesters in Minsk at more than 180, with a further three dozen detained in Brest, and other detentions recorded in Baranavichy and Hrodna.
The Belarusian Association of Journalists reported on its Telegram channel that two journalists were detained.
Protests were also reported in the southern city of Homel.
Earlier in the day, riot police were seen stringing barbed wire around several government buildings and monuments in central Minsk, and helmeted police were spotted outside several subway stations.
Videos posted to several Telegram channels appeared to show armored vehicles being staged in several locations in the city.
Ahead of the march, security services warned of a crackdown against those who decided to participate in the unsanctioned demonstration.
Lukashenka, who has ruled the country for 26 years, has refused to hold talks with his opponents, and rebuffed calls to hold new elections.
He claims to have won the August 9 elections with over 80 percent of the vote, something his opponents and outside observers say is false.
Opposition groups are also calling for the release of political prisoners and for an independent investigation of the police crackdown that swept up thousands in the days after the election.
Meanwhile, the country's leading opposition figure, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said her country was in "deep political crisis."
"Belarusians have changed, they have woken up," she said in a live stream on September 5 from Vilnius, where she fled in the days after the vote.
The people of Belarus "don't believe in the current government anymore." She said that it was "impossible to force people to back down."
The postelection demonstrations are the greatest challenge to date for Lukashenka.
On September 5, two unsanctioned rallies organized separately by university students and women's groups took place in Minsk. News agencies reported that dozens of students were dragged from the streets and pushed into vans by masked security agents.
Interfax quoted a police representative as saying that 25 students were later released, while nine others remained in detention.
Crisis In Belarus Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
The protests have not been limited to Minsk. Several hundred people rallied in the southern city of Homel on September 5, and police detained at least two protest participants.
Tsikhanouskaya was scheduled to visit Warsaw this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials.
A top Tsikhanouskaya aide told reporters in Warsaw on September 5 that she had been forced to leave Belarus by authorities.
Volha Kovalkova said she was made to lie down on the floor of an intelligence service car driving her to the border, where she was released. She managed to board a Polish bus after the driver recognized her.
"Everything that happened these past days and weeks I consider as torture. They threatened me with lengthy detention several times," Kovalkova said.
With reporting by Current Time, Reuters, Interfax, and AFP


rferl--2020-09-06--German Foreign Minister Adds To Pressure On Moscow To Clarify Navalny Poisoning

Germany 's foreign minister has signaled that Berlin will push for new sanctions against Russia if Moscow fails to explain the poisoning of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny .
Heiko Maas made the remarks in an interview published on September 6 as German officials signaled a tough line against Russia , which has denied involvement in the poisoning .
According to Maas , there are `` several indications '' that Russia was behind the poisoning .
`` If in the coming days Russia does not help clarify what happened , we will be compelled to discuss a response with our allies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bild am Sonntag .
Maas also signaled a possible shift in German policy regarding the nearly complete Baltic Sea pipeline known as Nord Stream 2 .
Chancellor Angela Merkel previously rejected the idea that the Navalny case should be linked to Nord Stream 2 , which would bring gas from Russia to Germany .
Merkel has been under pressure from the United States and other Western countries to scrap the plan .
Maas emphasized that stopping the pipeline would damage many German and European companies , but he said that did n't preclude @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we think about sanctions , they should be as targeted as possible , '' he was quoted as saying .
Germany on September 2 said that toxicology tests provided `` unequivocal evidence '' that the gravely ill Navalny had been poisoned with Novichok .
The Soviet-style , military-grade nerve agent has been in the past in the possession of military authorities and is only accessible to a very small group of people , Maas said .
Novichok was also used in the attack on Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not participate in solving the crime against Navalny , that would be a further indication of the state 's involvement , Maas said .
Russian authorities have denied the German accusations , but also refused to open a criminal investigation into the case , saying that no hard evidence has been found .
In a comment posted on Facebook , Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asserted that German officials had failed to respond to a request for information sent by the Russian Prosecutor-General 's Office .
`` Where is this urgency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote , addressing Maas directly .
`` Berlin is stalling the investigative process which it is calling for .
On purpose ? ''
Navalny , 44 , fell ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow on August 20 , forcing the plane he was traveling on to make an emergency landing in Omsk , where he spent two days in hospital before being evacuated to Germany .
He is now on a respirator and under medically induced coma in an intensive-care unit at Charite Hospital in Berlin .
In Britain , Foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Germany , saying Russia was obligated to make sure that chemical weapons are not , and can not be , used on its territory .
`` What is clear right now is that the Russian government has a very serious set of questions to answer , '' he told Sky News .
NATO on September 4 called on Russia to “ fully cooperate ” with an `` impartial , international '' probe to be led by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons into the poisoning .
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program to the chemical-weapons organization .
Russia `` now has serious questions it must answer , '' Stoltenberg told a news conference .
With reporting by Bild am Sonntag , ZDF , and AFP

Germany's foreign minister has signaled that Berlin will push for new sanctions against Russia if Moscow fails to explain the poisoning of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny, and rejected Moscow's allegations that Berlin was delaying investigation efforts.
Heiko Maas opened the day's remarks in an interview published on September 6, as German officials signaled a tough line against Russia, which has denied involvement in the poisoning and which later in the day accused the German authorities of not cooperating with Moscow.
According to Maas, there are "several indications" that Russia was behind the poisoning.
"If in the coming days Russia does not help clarify what happened, we will be compelled to discuss a response with our allies," Maas was quoted as telling Bild am Sonntag.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova later said that Russia would cooperate with investigations into the poisoning, but told the broadcaster Rossia-24 that "the Berlin side needs to show operational action."
In follow-up comments on September 6 to the broadcaster ARD, Maas called the Russian accusation a "smokescreen," adding that there was no reason to not consent to cooperate with Russia on the matter.
In his interview with Bild am Sonntag, Maas also signaled a possible shift in German policy regarding the nearly complete Baltic Sea pipeline known as Nord Stream 2.
Chancellor Angela Merkel previously rejected the idea that the Navalny case should be linked to Nord Stream 2, which would bring gas from Russia to Germany.
Merkel has been under pressure from the United States and other Western countries to scrap the plan.
Maas emphasized that stopping the pipeline would damage many German and European companies, but he said that didn't preclude other narrowly focused sanctions.
"When we think about sanctions, they should be as targeted as possible," he was quoted as saying.
Germany on September 2 said that toxicology tests provided "unequivocal evidence" that the gravely ill Navalny had been poisoned with Novichok.
The Soviet-style, military-grade nerve agent has been in the past in the possession of military authorities and is only accessible to a very small group of people, Maas said.
Novichok was also used in the attack on Russian double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain in 2018.
If the Russian side did not participate in solving the crime against Navalny, that would be a further indication of the state's involvement, Maas said.
Russian authorities have denied the German accusations, but also refused to open a criminal investigation into the case, saying that no hard evidence has been found.
In a comment posted on Facebook, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asserted that German officials had failed to respond to a request for information sent by the Russian Prosecutor-General's Office.
"Where is this urgency that you insist on?" Zakharova wrote, addressing Maas directly. "Berlin is stalling the investigative process which it is calling for. On purpose?"
Navalny, 44, fell ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow on August 20, forcing the plane he was traveling on to make an emergency landing in Omsk, where he spent two days in hospital before being evacuated to Germany.
He is now on a respirator and under medically induced coma in an intensive-care unit at Charite Hospital in Berlin.
In Britain, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab seconded the warnings from Germany, saying Russia was obligated to make sure that chemical weapons are not, and cannot be, used on its territory.
"What is clear right now is that the Russian government has a very serious set of questions to answer," he told Sky News.
NATO on September 4 called on Russia to “fully cooperate” with an "impartial, international" probe to be led by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons into the poisoning.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the NATO allies demanded Moscow reveal its Novichok program to the chemical-weapons organization.
Russia "now has serious questions it must answer," Stoltenberg told a news conference.
With reporting by Bild am Sonntag, ZDF, and AFP


rferl--2020-09-05--Khalilzad Departs For Qatar, As Afghan Government, Taliban Express Readiness For Talks

The U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation , Zalmay Khalilzad , has departed for Qatar , as both the Afghan government and the Taliban expressed their readiness to start peace talks .
Khalilzad `` will be traveling in the region to advance ongoing U.S. efforts to promote the immediate start of intra-Afghan negotiations , '' U.S. State Department said in a statement on September 5 .
`` The Afghan people are ready for a sustainable reduction in violence and a political settlement that will end the war , '' the statement said .
`` All sides have taken important steps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ the talks . ]
Now is the time to start , '' it added .
The Taliban delegation arrived in Qatar earlier on September 5 , paving the way for the start of the long-delayed intra-Afghan talks that are expected to take place in the Gulf state .
`` All members of our negotiating team have arrived in Doha .
The talks will begin once some small technical issues are resolved , '' Suhail Shaheen , a spokesman for the militant group , told the AFP news agency on September 5 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ spokesman for the High Council for National Reconciliation , said the government was ready to start direct negotiations .
“ The process of releasing the prisoners is over and there is no excuse for delaying the talks , but the Taliban are still not ready to take part in the talks , ” Khawzoon tweeted on September 5 , without further elaboration .
The talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are a crucial part of a peace deal the United States signed with the Taliban in February .
Until the deal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refused to directly negotiate with the Afghan government .
The talks were initially due to begin in March , but disagreements over ongoing violence and the prisoner swap have seen the start repeatedly pushed back .
The United States has ramped up pressure on Afghans on both sides of the conflict to open up negotiations over what a postwar Afghanistan might look like , how the rights of women and minorities would be protected , and how the tens of thousands of Taliban fighters and progovernment militias are disarmed and reintegrated .


rferl--2020-09-07--Georgian Opposition Parties Nominate Saakashvili As PM Candidate In Upcoming Elections

TBILISI -- The United National Movement ( UNM ) and several other opposition parties in Georgia that are members of the Strength in Unity political movement have nominated former President Mikheil Saakashvili as their candidate for the prime minister ’ s post ahead of elections in October .
UNM Chairman Grigol Vashadze said on September 7 that Saakashvili `` must return to Georgia and be with his people . ''
Saakashvili wrote on Facebook on September 6 that he plans to announce his return to Georgia .
Saakashvili , 52 , served as Georgia ’ s president from 2004 until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the 2012 parliamentary elections by Georgian Dream , a coalition formed by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili , a critic of the then president .
Saakashvili left Georgia shortly after his presidential term ended in late 2013 as some members of his party were arrested .
In January 2018 , a Georgian court convicted him in absentia of covering up evidence in the case of the killing of a Georgian banker and sentenced him to three years in prison .
In June 2018 , another court convicted him of abuse of power and sentenced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absentia .
Saakashvili has denied all the accusations and says the charges are politically motivated .
Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani has said that if Saakashvili returns to Georgia , he would be detained and placed in jail .
In 2015-2016 , Saakashvili served as governor of Ukraine ’ s Odesa region .
When he resigned , he accused then Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of corruption .
Poroshenko , in turn , stripped Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship .
As one of his first acts as president last year , Ukraine 's current President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizenship , facilitating Saakashvili ’ s return to Ukraine .
In May , Zelenskiy named Saakashvili to head the executive committee of Ukraine ’ s National Reform Council , which irked Tbilisi .
Parliamentary elections in Georgia are scheduled for October 31 .

TBILISI -- The United National Movement (ENM) and several other opposition parties in Georgia that are members of the Strength in Unity political movement have nominated former President Mikheil Saakashvili as their candidate for the prime minister’s post ahead of elections in October.
ENM Chairman Grigol Vashadze said on September 7 that Saakashvili "must return to Georgia and be with his people."
Saakashvili wrote on Facebook on September 6 that he plans to announce his return to Georgia.
Saakashvili, 52, served as Georgia’s president from 2004 until 2013.
His ENM party was defeated in the 2012 parliamentary elections by Georgian Dream, a coalition formed by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a critic of the then president.
Saakashvili left Georgia shortly after his presidential term ended in late 2013 as some members of his party were arrested.
In January 2018, a Georgian court convicted him in absentia of covering up evidence in the case of the killing of a Georgian banker and sentenced him to three years in prison. In June 2018, another court convicted him of abuse of power and sentenced him to six years in prison in absentia.
Saakashvili has denied all the accusations and says the charges are politically motivated.
Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani has said that if Saakashvili returned to Georgia, he would be detained and placed in jail.
In 2015-2016, Saakashvili served as governor of Ukraine's Odesa region. When he resigned, he accused then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko of corruption. Poroshenko, in turn, stripped Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship.
As one of his first acts as president last year, current President Volodymyr Zelenskiy restored Saakashvili's Ukrainian citizenship, facilitating Saakashvili's return to Ukraine.
In May, Zelenskiy named Saakashvili to head the executive committee of Ukraine's National Reform Council, which irked Tbilisi.
Parliamentary elections in Georgia are scheduled for October 31.


rferl--2020-09-07--Turkmen President Not Happy With State Media, Warns Of Government Reshuffle

ASHGABAT -- Turkmenistan 's authoritarian leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has warned of a cabinet reshuffle after criticizing the government for what he sees as its failure to get state-controlled media to `` report the country ’ s successes '' and `` shortcomings in resolving economic problems . ''
Berdymukhammedov 's warning came after Deputy Prime Minister Mahrijemal Mammedova , who is responsible for media and culture issues , presented a report at a government session that was broadcast by state television on September 4 .
Mammedova was appointed to her post in early July .
At the same session last week @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Deputy Education Minister Merdan Govshudov of his duties for what he called `` serious shortcomings and the failure to properly carry out his duties . ''
Berdymukhammedov frequently precedes the firings of government ministers and their deputies with this kind of public humiliation , and the fate of many such officials remains unknown .
There are no independent media outlets functioning In the tightly controlled Central Asian nation .
Information from nonstate media is scarce and often available only via the Internet .
Turkmenistan 's economy has been struggling for months , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result of unsuccessful energy deals and low global prices for natural gas , the Caspian nation 's main export .
Government critics and human rights groups say Berdymukhammedov has suppressed dissent and made few changes in the country since he came to power after the death of autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006 .
Like Niyazov , Berdymukhammedov long relied on energy revenues to subsidize prices for basic goods and utilities to help maintain his grip on power .

ASHGABAT -- Turkmenistan's authoritarian leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has warned of a cabinet reshuffle after criticizing the government for what he sees as its failure to get state-controlled media to "report the country’s successes" and "shortcomings in resolving economic problems."
Berdymukhammedov's warning came after Deputy Prime Minister Mahrijemal Mammedova, who is responsible for media and culture issues, presented a report at a government session that was broadcast by state television on September 4.
Mammedova was appointed to her post in early July.
At the same session last week, Berdymukhammedov, signed a decree relieving Deputy Education Minister Merdan Govshudov of his duties for what he called "serious shortcomings and the failure to properly carry out his duties."
Berdymukhammedov frequently precedes the firings of government ministers and their deputies with this kind of public humiliation, and the fate of many such officials remains unknown.
There are no independent media outlets functioning In the tightly controlled Central Asian nation. Information from nonstate media is scarce and often available only via the Internet.
Turkmenistan's economy has been struggling for months, with government revenues depleted, partly as a result of unsuccessful energy deals and low global prices for natural gas, the Caspian nation's main export.
Government critics and human rights groups say Berdymukhammedov has suppressed dissent and made few changes in the country since he came to power after the death of autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov in 2006.
Like Niyazov, Berdymukhammedov long relied on energy revenues to subsidize prices for basic goods and utilities to help maintain his grip on power.


rferl--2020-09-07--EU Alarm As Anti-Lukashenka Leader Feared Abducted Amid Deepening Belarus Crackdown

MINSK -- Opponents of Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka are scrambling to locate one of their most influential leaders after a report suggested a member of the opposition Coordinating Council 's presidium was hustled away in a minivan by unidentified men early on the 30th day of anti-government protests .
The independent , Russian-language news portal Tut.by quoted an eyewitness as saying Maryya Kalesnikava was abruptly swept from the street in downtown Minsk on September 7 and taken into a vehicle , marked `` Communication . ''
The Belarusian Interior Ministry , its national Investigative Committee , and the State Control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information about Kalesnikava 's disappearance .
Minsk police said they did not detain her .
The apparent abduction came one day after authorities acknowledged arresting more than 600 people at protests across the country over the weekend that attracted tens of thousands of people to pressure Lukashenka to resign following what they say was a rigged election last month .
Lukashenka , who has ruled the country for 26 years , has refused to hold talks with his opponents and rebuffed calls to hold a new election .
Meanwhile , the Meduza news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the Coordinating Council 's press secretary , Anton Randyonkau , and a member of a barred opposition presidential candidate 's headquarters , Hleb Herman .
They said both were incommunicado without explanation and there were concerns about their whereabouts .
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell issed a tweet calling out Minsk for `` arbitrary arrests and kidnappings , '' citing the `` brutal '' treatment of several opposition leaders including Kalesnikava , and demanding an end to such tactics .
Borrell said `` arbitrary arrests and kidnappings on political grounds in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' against Andrei Yahorau , Iryna Sukhiy , and Maria Kalesnikova , were `` unacceptable , '' '' State authorities must stop intimidating citizens & violating their own laws and int .
obligations , '' he added .
A spokesman for the European Commission , Peter Stano , said the commission was `` deeply concerned about the continued repression and intimidation of the population by unexplained arrests , very often arbitrary arrests , arrests which are motivated politically . ''
He also called the situation `` unacceptable . ''
`` What we are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the authorities against the civilian population , '' he said .
Lukashenka 's leading opponent in the presidential election was political novice Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , who fled into exile in Lithuania days after the August 9 vote .
Reuters quoted her saying that Kalesnikava 's abduction looked like authorities were trying to stamp out protest momentum and intimidate the opposition .
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius tweeted a call for Kalesnikava 's immediate release .
`` Instead of talking to the people of # Belarus , the outgoing leadership is trying cynically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] one by one , '' Linkevicius said .
`` The kidnapping of M.Kalesnikava in downtown of # Minsk is a disgrace .
Stalinist NKVD methods are being applied in 21st century ’ s Europe .
She must be released immediately . ''
Tsikhanouskaya is scheduled to visit Warsaw this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials .
Reuters has quoted three unnamed EU diplomats as saying the bloc will seek to impose economic sanctions on 31 senior Belarusian officials , including Interior Minister Yury Karayeu , by the middle of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be targeted , was given in August .
`` We initially agreed on 14 names but many states felt that was not sufficient .
We have now reached consensus on another 17 , '' one of the diplomatic sources told Reuters .
`` These are senior officials responsible for the election , for violence , and for the crackdown . ''
Belarusian officials say Lukashenka won a sixth presidential term with 80 percent of the vote , a number that democracy activists and Tsikhanouskaya dispute .
A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visit Russia `` within days . ''
Dmitry Peskov reportedly told TASS that `` preparations are in full swing , '' adding , `` Generally speaking , it [ the visit ] can be expected within days .
We will inform you in due time . ''
Moscow has responded coolly to Lukashenka 's appeals for Kremlin support since the protests erupted .
Russia has powerful economic and political leverage in Belarus through subsidized oil and gas shipments , although a two-decade-old agreement on a union state exists mainly on paper .
Authorities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they detained some 633 protesters as tens of thousands marched in the capital and other cities the previous day as part of the continuing opposition-led effort to pressure Lukashenka to leave .
Ahead of the September 6 protests , Lukashenka 's security services warned of a crackdown against those who decided to participate in the unsanctioned demonstration in the capital .
Aside from Minsk , demonstrators gathered in Brest , Baranavichy , and the western city of Hrodna , to the east in Mahilyou , and in the southern city of Homel .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ release of political prisoners and for an independent investigation of the police crackdown that swept up thousands in the days after the vote .
Tsikhanouskaya , who ran for president after her husband was jailed following his announcement he would run , said on September 5 that her country was in a `` deep political crisis . ''
Demonstrators in Minsk were chanting , `` Long live Belarus ! ''
and , `` Shame ! ''
and carrying red-and-white flags and banners , a symbol of the opposition that has been banned by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ event .
Police later dispersed protesters with the help of tear gas and roundups .
In addition to thousands of detentions , Belarusian authorities have silenced local journalists and expelled foreign journalists , and have prosecuted many opposition leaders for what they have alleged are threats against the Belarusian order .
With reporting by Current Time , AP , TASS , and Reuters

Exiled Belarus opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called the situation in her country "absolutely unacceptable" and pleaded for international pressure to dislodge embattled President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who she said no longer represents Belarus.
In a virtual appearance before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on September 8, Tsikhanouskaya urged international pressure including sanctions on Lukashenka and his government.
"My country, my nation, my people now need help," she said. "We need international pressure on this regime, on this one individual desperately clinging on to power. We need sanctions on individuals who issue and execute criminal orders that violate international norms and human rights. We need an immediate release of all political prisoners and to start a civilized dialogue in order to find ways for our country to move forward."
She added an appeal on behalf of Belarusians currently being victimized by the mass detentions, beatings at the hands of security forces, and apparent forced disappearances.
"I refuse -- as millions of Belarusians -- to accept that this is the fate of my country. I refuse, as do millions of Belarusians, to accept that the world will simply stand and watch these countless abuses of human rights, this blatant disregard for human dignity, this complete annihilation of any basic respect for human decency. I refuse, like millions of Belarusians, to stand down and give up.”
Tsikhanouskaya told the PACE representatives that "countries and parties that make deals with Mr. Lukashenka do so at their own risk" and should not expect a subsequent, democratically elected government to uphold treaties "made against [Belarusians'] will by an illegitimate regime."
Tsikhanouskaya ran against Lukashenka in an August 9 election that the opposition says was rigged.
She fled to Lithuanian days later amid massive protests and rumors she had been slated for arrest.
Unprecedented daily protests have continued, calling for Lukashenka to resign and a new election to be held.
Her PACE appearance comes just hours after Belarusian authorities said they had detained a Tsikhanouskaya ally after she and two other opposition organizers mysteriously appeared at a checkpoint on the Ukrainian border amid fears they had been abducted in Minsk a day earlier.
All three are part of a Coordination Council pressing for a transition away from Lukashenka's 26-year rule.
PACE President Rik Daems recently called for “an all-inclusive national political process” in Belarus to ensure a peaceful and democratic transition.
Belarus is not a member of the Council of Europe, but since its guest status was suspended in 1997 the assembly has continued to hold a dialogue with Belarusian authorities and frequently invites Belarusian politicians to attend its committee meetings.
"It is symbolic that I speak today here at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, representing a country, Belarus, that is right at the geographic center of Europe. And yet I have to speak here as an outsider," Tsikhanouskaya said on September 8. "I firmly believe that this situation will not last long. The Belarusians are now fighting for the values that this organization is created to uphold -- the human rights, democracy, and the rule of law -- the very thing that the current regime in my country despises and mocks."
Lukashenka has refused to hold talks with his opponents and rebuffed calls to hold a new election.
Tsikhanouskaya was quoted by Reuters as saying that the apparent abductions of oppostion Coordination Council members on September 7 looked like authorities were trying to stamp out protest momentum and intimidate the opposition.
Tsikhanouskaya is scheduled to visit Warsaw later this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials.
Lukashenka is doing his own travel, with plans to visit Russia “within days,” a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 7. Dmitry Peskov reportedly told TASS that "preparations are in full swing.”
Opposition groups are also calling for the release of political prisoners and for an independent investigation of the police crackdown that swept up thousands in the days after the vote.
With reporting by Current Time, AP, TASS, AFP, and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-07--Belarus Says More Than 600 Detained As Mass Anti-Lukashenka Protests Continue

MINSK -- Authorities in Belarus said on September 7 that they had detained some 633 protesters as tens of thousands marched in the capital and other cities the previous day as part of the continuing opposition-led effort to pressure President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to resign .
Meanwhile , police in Minsk denied they had detained a key member of the opposition 's coordination group after an eyewitness reported seeing Maryya Kalesnikava taken away in a minivan as the protests entered their 30th day .
Lukashenka , who has ruled the country for 26 years , has refused to hold talks with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new election since a vote last month that the opposition says was falsified .
Officials say Lukashenka won with 80 percent of the August 9 election , a number that democracy activists and the country ’ s leading opposition figure , Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , dispute .
Tsikhanouskaya , who fled into Lithuanian exile days after the vote , is reportedly scheduled to visit Warsaw this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials .
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on September 6 repeated a call for `` inclusive national dialogue , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around Belarus show the `` determination of Belarusian people to achieve their freedoms , rights & democracy '' in the face of `` arrests , intimidation & violence . ''
One day later , Reuters quoted three unnamed EU diplomats as saying the bloc will seek to impose economic sanctions on 31 senior Belarusian officials , including Interior Minister Yury Karayeu , by the middle of this month .
Initial approval without specifying who would be targeted , was given in August .
`` We initially agreed on 14 names but many states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have now reached consensus on another 17 , '' one of the diplomatic sources told Reuters .
`` These are senior officials responsible for the election , for violence , and for the crackdown . ''
Independent Russian-language news portal Tut.by quoted an eyewitness as saying that Kalesnikava , a member of the opposition Coordinating Council 's decision-making presidium , was abruptly taken into a minibus marked `` Communication '' early on September 7 and swept off toward an unknown destination .
`` The Minsk police did not detain her , '' Interfax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minsk City Executive as saying .
The Meduza news site reported that acquaintances had lost contact with the Coordinating Council 's press secretary , Anton Randyonkau , and a staff member of a barred opposition presidential candidate 's headquarters , Hleb Herman .
They said both were incommunicado without explanation and there were concerns for their whereabouts .
The Interior Ministry 's announcement on the number of detained represents a significantly higher figure than earlier estimates by rights campaigners and others monitoring the continuing crackdown .
They had cited around 180 detentions in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Baranavichy , and the western city of Hrodna on September 6 , the 29th straight day of anti-Lukashenka protests since a disputed August 9 presidential election .
Confrontations between police and demonstrators were also reported to the east in Mahilyou and in the southern city of Homel .
Lukashenka , who has ruled the country for 26 years , has refused to hold talks with his opponents , and rebuffed calls to hold a new election .
Officials say he won with 80 percent of the vote , a number that democracy activists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figure , Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya , dispute .
Opposition groups are also calling for the release of political prisoners and for an independent investigation of the police crackdown that swept up thousands in the days after the vote .
A small picket-style protest was already under way in Homel early on September 7 .
Tsikhanouskaya , who ran for president after her husband was jailed following his announcement he would run , said on September 5 that her country is in “ deep political crisis.
” “ Belarusians have changed .
They have woken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , where she fled days after the vote .
Ahead of the September 6 protests , Lukashenka 's security services warned of a crackdown against those who decided to participate in the unsanctioned demonstration in the capital .
But scenes from Minsk showed massive crowds and a long column of protesters on the avenue leading to the presidential palace , which was guarded by police in riot gear , and protected by metal fencing and water cannons .
Demonstrators were chanting , `` Long live Belarus ! ''
and , `` Shame !
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a symbol of the opposition that has been banned by the authorities .
Police later dispersed protesters with the help of tear gas .
On September 5 , two unsanctioned rallies organized separately by university students and women ’ s groups took place in Minsk .
News agencies reported that dozens of students were dragged from the streets at those events and pushed into vans by masked security agents .
In addition to thousands of detentions , Belarusian authorities have silenced local journalists and expelled foreign journalists , and prosecuted many opposition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Reuters

MINSK -- Authorities in Belarus said on September 7 that they had detained some 633 protesters as tens of thousands marched in the capital and other cities the previous day as part of the continuing opposition-led effort to pressure President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to resign.
Meanwhile, police in Minsk denied they had detained a key member of the opposition's coordination group after an eyewitness reported seeing Maryya Kalesnikava taken away in a minivan as the protests entered their 30th day.
Lukashenka, who has ruled the country for 26 years, has refused to hold talks with his opponents and rebuffed calls to hold a new election since a vote last month that the opposition says was falsified.
Officials say Lukashenka won with 80 percent of the August 9 election, a number that democracy activists and the country’s leading opposition figure, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, dispute.
Tsikhanouskaya, who fled into Lithuanian exile days after the vote, is reportedly scheduled to visit Warsaw this week to hold meetings with top Polish officials.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on September 6 repeated a call for "inclusive national dialogue," saying "impressive mass demonstrations" around Belarus show the "determination of Belarusian people to achieve their freedoms, rights & democracy" in the face of "arrests, intimidation & violence."
One day later, Reuters quoted three unnamed EU diplomats as saying the bloc will seek to impose economic sanctions on 31 senior Belarusian officials, including Interior Minister Yury Karayeu, by the middle of this month.
Initial approval without specifying who would be targeted, was given in August.
"We initially agreed on 14 names but many states felt that was not sufficient. We have now reached consensus on another 17," one of the diplomatic sources told Reuters. "These are senior officials responsible for the election, for violence, and for the crackdown."
Independent Russian-language news portal Tut.by quoted an eyewitness as saying that Kalesnikava, a member of the opposition Coordinating Council's decision-making presidium, was abruptly taken into a minibus marked "Communication" early on September 7 and swept off toward an unknown destination.
"The Minsk police did not detain her," Interfax later quoted the police department of the Minsk City Executive as saying.
The Meduza news site reported that acquaintances had lost contact with the Coordinating Council's press secretary, Anton Randyonkau, and a staff member of a barred opposition presidential candidate's headquarters, Hleb Herman. They said both were incommunicado without explanation and there were concerns for their whereabouts.
The Interior Ministry's announcement on the number of detained represents a significantly higher figure than earlier estimates by rights campaigners and others monitoring the continuing crackdown.
They had cited around 180 detentions in Minsk and dozens more in Brest, Baranavichy, and the western city of Hrodna on September 6, the 29th straight day of anti-Lukashenka protests since a disputed August 9 presidential election.
Confrontations between police and demonstrators were also reported to the east in Mahilyou and in the southern city of Homel.
Lukashenka, who has ruled the country for 26 years, has refused to hold talks with his opponents, and rebuffed calls to hold a new election.
Officials say he won with 80 percent of the vote, a number that democracy activists and the country’s leading opposition figure, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, dispute.
Opposition groups are also calling for the release of political prisoners and for an independent investigation of the police crackdown that swept up thousands in the days after the vote.
A small picket-style protest was already under way in Homel early on September 7.
Tsikhanouskaya, who ran for president after her husband was jailed following his announcement he would run, said on September 5 that her country is in “deep political crisis.”
“Belarusians have changed. They have woken up,” Tsikhanouskaya said from Vilnius, where she fled days after the vote.
Ahead of the September 6 protests, Lukashenka's security services warned of a crackdown against those who decided to participate in the unsanctioned demonstration in the capital.
But scenes from Minsk showed massive crowds and a long column of protesters on the avenue leading to the presidential palace, which was guarded by police in riot gear, and protected by metal fencing and water cannons.
Demonstrators were chanting, "Long live Belarus!" and, "Shame!" and carrying red-and-white flags and banners, a symbol of the opposition that has been banned by the authorities.
Police later dispersed protesters with the help of tear gas.
On September 5, two unsanctioned rallies organized separately by university students and women’s groups took place in Minsk.
News agencies reported that dozens of students were dragged from the streets at those events and pushed into vans by masked security agents.
In addition to thousands of detentions, Belarusian authorities have silenced local journalists and expelled foreign journalists, and prosecuted many opposition leaders.
With reporting by Current Time and Reuters


rferl--2020-09-07--U.S. 'Concerned' Over Fate Of Uzbek Journalist Extradited By Kyrgyzstan

The United States has expressed concerns over the fate of independent Uzbek journalist Bobomurod Abdullaev , who was extradited to Tashkent from Kyrgyzstan last month .
In a September 5 statement , the U.S. State Department said the extradition of Abdullaev , who had been enrolled in a journalism program at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek , was `` based on vague and unsubstantiated charges . ''
`` Although Mr. Abdullaev was released after he arrived in Uzbekistan and was allowed to travel to be with his family outside the capital , his current status is unclear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government of Uzbekistan to clarify the allegations against him as well as the next steps , '' the statement said .
It urged Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev and his government `` to respect the right to freedom of expression , for members of the media as well as Mr. Abdullaev , and allow him to travel to any location of his choosing . ''
The statement also said that the United States is concerned by allegations that Abdullaev was tortured while in custody in neighboring Kyrgyzstan , `` as well as by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ [ Abdullaev ] to Uzbekistan , despite its non-refoulement obligations . ''
Non-refoulement is the practice of not forcing refugees or asylum seekers back to countries in which they are likely to be subjected to persecution .
The State Department also called on Kyrgyzstan to release the journalist and let him depart to a country of his choice .
Kyrgyzstan 's State Committee for National Security ( UKMK ) said on August 22 that Abdullaev was extradited to Uzbekistan “ in accordance with international law . ''
It said the Uzbek government provided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ill-treated or tortured .
Upon arrival in Uzbekistan ’ s capital , Tashkent , Abdullaev was released after visiting the Security Committee , his lawyer told RFE/RL ’ s Uzbek Service .
Sergei Mayorov said his client was released to his sister ’ s house but was barred from traveling inside or outside Uzbekistan pending a full investigation and further questioning .
Uzbekistan has not specified the exact nature of the charges against the 47-year-old independent journalist .
Media reports in Uzbekistan suggest Abdullaev is being sought in connection with social-media posts critical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pen name Qora Mergan ( Black Shooter ) .
Abdullaev has denied that he has any connection to the writings .
Abdullaev 's treatment has previously been the focus of rights groups after he and three other men were arrested in 2017 in Tashkent .
They were charged with calling for a change to Uzbekistan 's constitutional order by force .
Those charges stemmed from a series of articles under the byline Usman Haqnazarov , which was apparently used by more than one person .
Abdullaev also denied guilt at the time , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a journalist .
In May 2018 , Abdullaev was convicted on charges of producing `` anti-government propaganda . ''
But he was cleared of the more serious charge of conspiracy against the state -- and was then released .
Kyrgyz authorities detained Abdullaev in Bishkek on August 9 and held him in a detention center pending a decision on Uzbekistan 's extradition request .
Abdullaev studied for four months at Bishkek 's American University of Central Asia and has been stuck in Kyrgyzstan due to coronavirus travel restrictions .
Prior to that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ several months at the invitation of the media rights group Reporters Without Borders ( RSF ) .
Seven foreign-based human rights groups , including RSF , Amnesty International , and Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) , had appealed to the Kyrgyz authorities to release Abdullayev out of concern he could face abuse in Uzbekistan .

The United States has expressed concerns over the fate of independent Uzbek journalist Bobomurod Abdullaev, who was extradited to Tashkent from Kyrgyzstan last month.
In a September 5 statement, the U.S. State Department said the extradition of Abdullaev, who had been enrolled in a journalism program at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, was "based on vague and unsubstantiated charges."
"Although Mr. Abdullaev was released after he arrived in Uzbekistan and was allowed to travel to be with his family outside the capital, his current status is unclear. The United States calls on the government of Uzbekistan to clarify the allegations against him as well as the next steps," the statement said.
It urged Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev and his government "to respect the right to freedom of expression, for members of the media as well as Mr. Abdullaev, and allow him to travel to any location of his choosing."
The statement also said that the United States is concerned by allegations that Abdullaev was tortured while in custody in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, "as well as by the Kyrgyz Republic’s decision to extradite [Abdullaev] to Uzbekistan, despite its non-refoulement obligations."
Non-refoulement is the practice of not forcing refugees or asylum seekers back to countries in which they are likely to be subjected to persecution.
The State Department also called on Kyrgyzstan to release the journalist and let him depart to a country of his choice.
Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on August 22 that Abdullaev was extradited to Uzbekistan “in accordance with international law."
It said the Uzbek government provided Kyrgyzstan assurances that Abdullaev would not be ill-treated or tortured.
Upon arrival in Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, Abdullaev was released after visiting the Security Committee,his lawyer told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service.
Sergei Mayorov said his client was released to his sister’s house but was barred from traveling inside or outside Uzbekistan pending a full investigation and further questioning.
Uzbekistan has not specified the exact nature of the charges against the 47-year-old independent journalist.
Media reports in Uzbekistan suggest Abdullaev is being sought in connection with social-media posts critical of Mirziyoev that were written under the pen name Qora Mergan (Black Shooter).
Abdullaev has denied that he has any connection to the writings.
Abdullaev's treatment has previously been the focus of rights groups after he and three other men were arrested in 2017 in Tashkent. They were charged with calling for a change to Uzbekistan's constitutional order by force.
Those charges stemmed from a series of articles under the byline Usman Haqnazarov, which was apparently used by more than one person.
Abdullaev also denied guilt at the time, saying he was doing his job as a journalist.
In May 2018, Abdullaev was convicted on charges of producing "anti-government propaganda." But he was cleared of the more serious charge of conspiracy against the state -- and was then released.
Kyrgyz authorities detained Abdullaev in Bishkek on August 9 and held him in a detention center pending a decision on Uzbekistan's extradition request.
Abdullaev studied for four months at Bishkek's American University of Central Asia and has been stuck in Kyrgyzstan due to coronavirus travel restrictions. Prior to that, the journalist had lived in Germany for several months at the invitation of the media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Seven foreign-based human rights groups, including RSF, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch (HRW), had appealed to the Kyrgyz authorities to release Abdullayev out of concern he could face abuse in Uzbekistan.


rferl--2020-09-07--Serbian, Kosovar Leaders In Brussels On Heels Of 'Historic' U.S.-Mediated Deal

Leaders of Serbia and Kosovo are expected to meet with senior EU leaders in Brussels on September 7 on the heels of a U.S.-brokered deal last week to normalize the two Balkan neighbors ' economic relations .
EU officials hope momentum from the economic breakthrough carries over into political progress between Serbian President Alyaksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti , whose country still is not recognized by Serbia , Russia , and a handful of EU countries .
A joint statement ahead of the talks in Brussels said the Serbian and Kosovar leaders confirmed `` they attach the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continuing the work on the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue which is a key element of their respective EU paths . ''
The statement , issued by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell , said Vucic and Hoti were `` committed to redoubling '' their efforts at EU alignment .
Serbia is a candidate for EU membership and Kosovo is a potential candidate .
Serbia and its former province agreed on September 4 to cooperate on a raft of economic issues to spur their economies and job growth after two days of intensive meetings with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first concrete progress since a tariffs war broke out nearly two years ago .
They have so far resisted a deal on recognition for Kosovo and a normalization of diplomatic relations , which are at the center of a decade of EU mediation efforts .
The parallel U.S. diplomatic effort , although focused on economic development , has not been fully embraced by some EU officials .
The pre-meeting statement on September 7 said the Washington agreement was `` building on previous dialogue-related commitments undertaken by the two parties , [ and ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a comprehensive , legally binding agreement on normalization of relations . ''
The Serbian and Kosovar leaders will meet with Borrel and his special envoy for the recently rekindled Serbian-Kosovar dialogue , Miroslav Lajcak , in Brussels on September 7 .
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on September 4 that Serbia and Kosovo had agreed to `` a truly historic commitment '' on economic normalization as part of U.S.-brokered talks that included Belgrade moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem , and mutual recognition between Israel and Kosovo .
Hoti said moving ahead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ step forward '' and cited rail links and other vital infrastructure projects .
Serbia agreed to a one-year pause of any campaign against Kosovo 's efforts for membership into international organizations and new recognition from other countries .
In all , a total of four countries now recognize contested Jerusalem as Israel ’ s capital , including the United States and Guatemala .
Turkey on September 6 said it was `` disappointing '' to see `` even the thought by Kosovar officials of taking such a step '' as the recognition of Israel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mission in Jerusalem .
Mostly Sunni Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize predominantly Muslim Kosovo 's independence in 2008 and is a vocal advocate of the Palestinian cause .
Most Western nations have recognized Kosovo ’ s independence , but Serbia and its allies Russia and China have not .
Kosovo ’ s parliament declared independence from Serbia in 2008 , nine years after NATO conducted a 78-day airstrike campaign against Serbia to stop a bloody crackdown against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo .
With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Leaders of Serbia and Kosovo met with senior EU leaders in Brussels on September 7 on the heels of a U.S.-brokered deal last week to normalize the two Balkan neighbors' economic relations.
EU officials hope momentum from the economic breakthrough carries over into political progress between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti, whose country still is not recognized by Serbia, Russia, and a handful of EU countries.
EU special envoy for the recently rekindled Serbian-Kosovar dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, said the sides discussed in Brussels the issues of non-majority communities and the settlement of mutual financial claims on property.
A joint statement ahead of the talks in Brussels said the Serbian and Kosovar leaders confirmed "they attach the highest priority to EU integration and to continuing the work on the EU-facilitated Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue which is a key element of their respective EU paths."
The statement, issued by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said Vucic and Hoti were "committed to redoubling" their efforts at EU alignment.
Serbia is a candidate for EU membership and Kosovo is a potential candidate.
Serbia and its former province agreed on September 4 to cooperate on a raft of economic issues to spur their economies and job growth after two days of intensive meetings with U.S. officials in Washington, the first concrete progress since a tariffs war broke out nearly two years ago.
They have so far resisted a deal on recognition for Kosovo and a normalization of diplomatic relations, which are at the center of a decade of EU mediation efforts.
The parallel U.S. diplomatic effort, although focused on economic development, has not been fully embraced by some EU officials.
The pre-meeting statement on September 7 said the Washington agreement was "building on previous dialogue-related commitments undertaken by the two parties, [and] could provide a useful contribution to reaching a comprehensive, legally binding agreement on normalization of relations."
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on September 4 that Serbia and Kosovo had agreed to "a truly historic commitment" on economic normalization as part of U.S.-brokered talks that included Belgrade moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and mutual recognition between Israel and Kosovo.
Hoti said moving ahead with economic normalization was a “huge step forward" and cited rail links and other vital infrastructure projects.
Serbia agreed to a one-year pause of any campaign against Kosovo's efforts for membership into international organizations and new recognition from other countries.
Casting a shadow over the Brussels talks, the European Commission on September 7 voiced "serious concern" over Belgrade's commitment to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
“There is no EU member state with an embassy in Jerusalem,” spokesman Peter Stano said. “Any diplomatic steps that could call into question the EU’s common position on Jerusalem are a matter of serious concern and regret.”
In Belgrade, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said the final decision would have to be discussed by the government and will depend on “a number of factors,” including future development of ties with Israel.
In all, a total of four countries now recognize contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, including the United States and Guatemala.
Turkey on September 6 said it was "disappointing" to see "even the thought by Kosovar officials of taking such a step" as the recognition of Israel and the setting up of Pristina's mission in Jerusalem.
Mostly Sunni Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize predominantly Muslim Kosovo's independence in 2008 and is a vocal advocate of the Palestinian cause.
Most Western nations have recognized Kosovo’s independence, but Serbia and its allies Russia and China have not.
Kosovo’s parliament declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after NATO conducted a 78-day airstrike campaign against Serbia to stop a bloody crackdown against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP


rferl--2020-09-07--Montenegrins March To Oppose Pro-Serb Rallies, Symbols Following Elections

PODGORICA -- Tens of thousands of people marched in Montenegro on September 6 to protest the use of Serbian national symbols by pro-Serbian opposition parties that claimed victory in elections last week .
People from various parts of Montenegro gathered in the capital , Podgorica , for the evening march to send a message that they would “ defend an independent and civil Montenegro.
” Participants chanted , `` This is not Serbia '' and , `` We do not give away Montenegro . ''
Three opposition alliances won 41 of the 81 seats in parliamentary elections on August 30 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in governing the small Balkan country .
The main alliance is named For The Future Of Montenegro , which seeks closer ties with Serbia and Russia and is backed by the Serbian Orthodox Church , won 32 percent of the vote , according to the final preliminary count .
The alliance is led by the pro-Serb Democratic Front ( DF ) .
Another two alliances - a center-right group called Peace Is Our Nation and the Black And White alliance , which together won 18 percent of the vote -- said they would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The final preliminary count gave the Democratic Party of Socialists ( DPS ) 35 percent of the vote .
Final official results are expected in the coming days .
Tensions have soared in Montenegro since last week , when thousands of opposition party supporters held victory celebrations by waving Serbian flags , displaying Serb Chetnik symbols , and using the three-finger gesture known as the Serbian salute .
In the northern town of Pljevlja there were some serious incidents , including attacks on Bosniaks , as well as on the facilities of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The DPS has accused Serb nationalists , while opposition parties claim that DPS structures are behind the incidents .
Police are still investigating .
For The Future Of Montenegro and its partners plan to form a government of experts to succeed President Milo Djukanovic , whom they accuse of corruption and of attacking critics of the government .
Djukanovic ’ s DPS led Montenegro to independence from Serbia in 2006 and established a partnership with the West .
Djukanovic repeated accusations during his campaign that the opposition was working for foreign Serbian and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who had organized the march in Podgorica , which was peaceful .
The independent newspaper Vijesti identified numerous prominent politicians from Djukanovic 's DPS party among those taking part .
Most of the speakers presented themselves as `` patriots . ''
Protesters who arrived from places where the coronavirus is still widespread had to provide a negative COVID-19 test or be quarantined on arrival .
The government has already fully opened borders with neighbors Poland , Slovakia , Austria , and Germany , while also allowing unrestricted travel with Hungary .
With reporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and dpa

PODGORICA -- Tens of thousands of people marched in Montenegro on September 6 to protest the use of Serbian national symbols by pro-Serbian opposition parties that claimed victory in elections last week.
People from various parts of Montenegro gathered in the capital, Podgorica, for the evening march to send a message that they would “defend an independent and civil Montenegro.”
Participants chanted, "This is not Serbia" and, "We do not give away Montenegro."
Three opposition alliances won 41 of the 81 seats in parliamentary elections on August 30 and have said they intend to cooperate in governing the small Balkan country.
The main alliance is named For The Future Of Montenegro, which seeks closer ties with Serbia and Russia and is backed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, won 32 percent of the vote, according to the final preliminary count. The alliance is led by the pro-Serb Democratic Front (DF).
Another two alliances - a center-right group called Peace Is Our Nation and the Black And White alliance, which together won 18 percent of the vote -- said they would join pro-Serb parties to form the government.
The final preliminary count gave the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) 35 percent of the vote. Final official results are expected in the coming days.
Tensions have soared in Montenegro since last week, when thousands of opposition party supporters held victory celebrations by waving Serbian flags, displaying Serb Chetnik symbols, and using the three-finger gesture known as the Serbian salute.
In the northern town of Pljevlja there were some serious incidents, including attacks on Bosniaks, as well as on the facilities of political parties and Islamic religious communities. The DPS has accused Serb nationalists, while opposition parties claim that DPS structures are behind the incidents. Police are still investigating.
For The Future Of Montenegro and its partners plan to form a government of experts to succeed President Milo Djukanovic, whom they accuse of corruption and of attacking critics of the government.
Djukanovic’s DPS led Montenegro to independence from Serbia in 2006 and established a partnership with the West.
Djukanovic repeated accusations during his campaign that the opposition was working for foreign Serbian and Russian interests.
It was not clear who had organized the march in Podgorica, which was peaceful.
The independent newspaper Vijesti identified numerous prominent politicians from Djukanovic's DPS party among those taking part. Most of the speakers presented themselves as "patriots."
Protesters who arrived from places where the coronavirus is still widespread had to provide a negative COVID-19 test or be quarantined on arrival. The government has already fully opened borders with neighbors Poland, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany, while also allowing unrestricted travel with Hungary.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa