Tikhanovskaya to MEPs: we're no longer minority, we're majority

"Belarus has woken up. We are not the opposition any more. We are the majority now. The peaceful revolution is taking place," the Belarusian national leader told members of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

"It is neither an anti-European union, nor pro-European union revolution. It is a democratic revolution. It is the striving of a nation to decide for itself. It is the striving of the people to freely and fairly elect its leaders and decide its destiny," she added.

Currently based in Vilnius, Tikhanovskaya also reiterated that Belarusians are demanding a free election. "The demand of Belarusians is simple – a free and fair election. This is the demand of the protesters on the streets," Tikhanovskaya said.

She also once again asked for respect for Belarusians' freedom of self-determination.

"I call on all the countries of the world to respect the basic right of the nation for self-determination. I call on all the countries of the world to respect the sovereignty of Belarus. I call on all the countries of the world to respect the territorial integrity of Belarus," the former presidential candidate said.

Tikhanovskaya arrived in Lithuania after she declared she did not recognize authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko's victory in the presidential election on August 9.

Belarus has been engulfed in mass demonstrations for the past two weeks, with people protesting against vote-rigging and the government's violence and demanding Lukashenko's resignation.