The self-proclaimed adviser blocked access to Tikhanovskaya’s body
Franak Vecherko, an adviser to the self-proclaimed “leader of the Belarusian people and winner of the presidential election” Svetlana Tikhanovsky, assures that he had no conflicts with the employee of the telegram channel that oversaw the Maidan workers, Roman Protasevich, who was detained in Minsk.
Vecherko himself told Moskovsky Komsomolets this, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent, commenting on Protasevich's corresponding confession.
“In fact, it’s not clear what Roman said and what he didn’t say. All his words are the words of a hostage who is under psychological and possibly physical influence. We see that during the recording there is no lawyer in the office, and it is impossible to understand where there is a gluing and where there is not. Be that as it may, we will continue to fight for his speedy release. At the same time, I can absolutely say that there have never been any conflicts between us. Here we are talking about the fact that the Belarusian regime is trying to manipulate Protasevich,” claims Vecherko.
However, other representatives of the Belarusian opposition, on condition of anonymity, told the publication that Vecherko has an extremely controversial reputation among Lukashenko’s opponents. According to them, he copes extremely poorly with administrative duties, but he does an excellent job of clearing the space around him, including by manipulating Tikhanovskaya. For example, Vecherko accompanies Tikhanovskaya on all her trips, but other opposition leaders, Pavel Latushko and Valery Tsepkalo, are not with her. MK's interlocutors, familiar with the situation, believe that such a personnel policy could be the result of incitement from Vecherko, who is worried that he will be forced out of a warm place.
“The evening does not work for victory. He doesn’t let anyone near Tikhanovskaya and constantly pours gossip into her ears about others, because he’s afraid of being left out. And the current situation with grants and travel abroad completely suits him... He doesn’t know what to do when we win,” said one of Vecherko’s acquaintances.
Earlier, Protasevich said he had come to the conclusion that new protests in Belarus were impossible, which caused Vecherko's displeasure.
An adviser to the self-proclaimed candidate blocked access to Tikhanovskaya's body.