Hundreds of arrests in Belarus
Thousands of people are protesting again against the Belarusian President Lukashenko. Also, the police use force against peaceful demonstrators. Meanwhile, the opposition politician Tichanowskaja congratulates Biden on the US election victory – and hopes for his support in Belarus.
Hundreds of uniformed men in balaclavas opposed new protests against the ruler Alexander Lukashenko. There were hundreds of arrests, as the Wesna Human Rights Center announced on its website spring96.org. There was talk of at least 438 in the capital Minsk and other cities in the late afternoon.
Videos and photos showed how uniformed men, some of them without identification, brutally pressed peaceful people onto the ground and forced them into prisoner transporters. In several places in the city, the OMON special police took action against groups of people trying to gather in the city center. Like every Sunday, thousands of people were out on the streets. There were also demonstrations in other cities for Lukashenko’s resignation.
The military uses massive technology.
The metro stations in Minsk were closed to prevent demonstrators from entering the city center. The mobile Internet was also mostly switched off – this should make it more challenging to meet in town. Troops blocked several streets – some with heavy equipment. The police opened water cannons.
Even though the ban on demonstrations and the authorities’ threat of violence, crowds of people marched on several city streets – with the historic white, red, and white flags. They chanted: “Long live, Belarus!” The authorities had also announced a car parade by Lukashenko’s supporters.
“The power belongs to the people!” Announced the democracy movement in Minsk. The civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanowskaja, who is seen by the move as the winner of the presidential election on August 9, welcomed the fact that people fought against Lukashenko for their freedom fear and with perseverance. “We have been resisting lawlessness and violence for 90 days,” she said in her exile in the EU.
You might also be interested in:
