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For the fourth consecutive weekend, tens of thousands of people in Belarus have demanded the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko despite unprecedented threats from the authorities during mass protests. Thousands of people flocked to the Independence Palace, Lukashenko’s headquarters. His spokesman posted a photo showing the head of state holding a submachine gun in front of the building. He had performed with a Kalashnikov a week ago.
He was shown armed and with a bulletproof vest: the head of state of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.
Photo: APA / AFP / BELTA / –
140 arrests
Police cracked down on the peaceful protesters on Sunday, Lukashenko’s 66th birthday. Men in uniform mainly place men in prisoner transports, as can be seen in photos and videos.
In the capital Minsk alone, 140 people were arrested in the afternoon, according to the Interior Ministry. The media reported many arrests in other cities. Russian President Vladimir Putin used a congratulatory call on Lukashenko’s birthday to invite his colleague to Moscow.
According to Russia’s Presidential Office, the meeting scheduled for the next few weeks would be the first since the protests began. Putin had offered Lukashenko this week to send a police force to Belarus if the riots got out of control.
A1 reduced internet bandwidth
A1, one of the largest mobile operators in Belarus, said that it had reduced mobile Internet bandwidth at the government’s behest. In Minsk, the police temporarily detained some protesters in prisoner trucks. Eyewitnesses said that some people had resisted attempts to be arrested by plainclothes policemen.
A reporter for the German Press Agency reported from Minsk that the Independence Square was completely cordoned off with metal bars. This is where the protesters originally wanted to move.
In the city center, uniformed men tried to push people back with off-road vehicles with high metal grilles on the front bumper. You could see in pictures how the women lay down on the street in front of him.
The police were on the scene with a large contingent. Water cannons were also deployed. The protesters yelled “shame” at the police. Screams were also heard during the arrests. From time to time the citizens resisted.
Final figures on the arrests were not initially available. After heavy rains, many protesters returned home in the afternoon. As a result, the military technology was again withdrawn in the Palace of Independence.
