Belarus’ opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has urged the European Union to step up action against the regime of long-time ruler Aleksander Lukashenko, amid massive protests in the country running for almost three consecutive months.

Although the EU has shown its willingness to help, it was sometimes slow to act, as the issued in October for 40 senior Belarusian officials had been delayed because Cyprus was seeking a similar stance towards Turkey’s provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean, the opposition leader said.

Lukashenko, who is currently running his sixth term in power, was not initially included in EU’s sanctions list that was agreed during an extraordinary summit on October 2, despite mounting calls by politicians, human rights activists and Tikhanovskaya. In a later move, the EU also agreed to  as well.  

“This help is needed now. And if European countries, and all the countries supporting our movement, could move faster in their decisions, that would be wonderful,” Tikhanovskaya told the  in an interview published on Sunday.

The opposition leader also asked the EU to target “people and companies” supporting Lukashenko, and in particular, the country’s Olympic committee, which is headed by the incumbent president. 

“That would be a personal blow for him,” she said before adding that visa-free travel for Belarusians would also be of help, both for the free movement of people across the EU and for the weakening of Lukashenko’s regime. 

“We will be discussing this item with Europe,” Tikhanovskaya said. “[If] people can leave the country without problems, the regime will not have so much power over them. Belarusians will feel freer,” she added. 

Tikhanovskaya, who fled Belarus over safety reasons after the announcement of the August 9 election results, and now stays in Lithuania, had provided the EU with a list of people involved in the violent crackdown on demonstrators, protesting against the “rigged” elections.

On Sunday, dozens of thousands marched in the capital, Minsk demanding Lukashenko’s resignation, with security forces reportedly firing warning shots to prevent Belarusian people from gathering and using stun grenades to deter them.