Tsikhanouskaya: Belarus govt doesn't care about its people

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya answered questions during a second weekly online streaming session from Vilnius on Saturday.

Tsikhanouskaya, who ran in place of her imprisoned husband against the country's authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko in what was viewed by many as rigged elections on 9 August, is currently staying in the capital Lithuania.

On a day, when over 100 000 demonstrators marched in Minsk with reportedly more than 400 detained, Tsikhanouskaya said, "they don't want to listen or hear us."

She called for police and other law enforcement to "make a choice. And if they choose to side with the people, side with the law, it's time to declare they stand with the people of Belarus."

She encouraged the protesters, saying, "It takes some willpower to go out and protest every day. Some inner strength to fight off fear and move forward."