Belarus leader holds reform talks in jail with political rivals

MINSK • Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko last Saturday went to a jail run by the country's security service to meet his jailed political opponents, ostensibly to discuss plans for constitutional reforms.

The bizarre yet officially reported meeting saw the strongman sit down with opponents he has jailed for months for a conversation about his political course.

"I am trying to convince not only your supporters but the whole of society that one needs to look at things more broadly," he said in a video snippet.

The European Union and the United States have refused to recognise Mr Lukashenko's inauguration after he claimed a landslide win in an August vote - results contested by his main rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

A photo from Mr Lukashenko's press service showed him sitting at an oval table with prisoners, including banker Viktor Babariko, seen as the strongman's toughest rival in the elections but who was prevented from running and jailed.

Others pictured included lawyer Liliya Vlasova, who is a member of the opposition's coordination council set up to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, and Belarusian-US strategist Vitali Shkliarov, who advised the Russian opposition.

All looked pale and unsmiling.

"The aim of the President is to hear everyone's opinion," Mr Lukashenko's press service wrote on Telegram, adding that the participants agreed to keep "secret" the content of the 4½-hour meeting.

The opposition described the visit as a sign of weakness.

Ms Tikhanovskaya wrote on social media that Mr Lukashenko had "acknowledged the existence of political prisoners whom he used to call criminals". But she added: "You can't have dialogue in a prison cell."

Mr Pavel Latushko, a member of the opposition's coordination council, wrote on social media that the meeting "showed we are on the right track. Lukashenko was forced to sit down for talks with those he himself put behind bars".

In a brief video excerpt, Mr Lukashenko told the prisoners: "You can't rewrite the Constitution on the street," referring to street protests.

The weekend saw the latest protests against Mr Lukashenko, an event that has become routine since the Aug 9 election.

Security forces yesterday detained dozens of protesters and used force, including water cannon and batons, to break up crowds demanding a new presidential election, TV footage showed.

Footage showed police officers dragging protesters into unmarked black vans and beating them with their batons in the capital Minsk.

One sequence showed a police van unleashing a powerful jet of water from a cannon into crowds.

Mr Lukashenko, a former collective farm manager who has been in power since 1994, denies his win was the result of cheating.

Security forces have detained more than 13,000 people during a post-election crackdown, some of whom were later freed.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS