The Belarusian Nobel Prize-winning writer Svetlana Alexievich has condemned brutal police violence against demonstrators across Belarus, saying “the authorities have declared war on their people” and that President Alyaksandr Lukashenka should step down from power to prevent a bloody civil war.
Ms. Alexievich made the remarks from Minsk in a telephone interview with RFE/RL on August 12 as protests continued across Belarus over the results announced from the country’s August 9 election, which demonstrators say fraudulently gave Mr. Lukashenka victory with more than 80 percent of the vote.