New massive protests against Lukashenko expected

In the weeks-long struggle for power in Belarus, new massive protests are expected against the head of state Alexander Lukashenko this Sunday (1:00 pm CEST). Despite the new threat of violence from the authorities, the opposition called for a large “party march” in the capital, Minsk, and other cities. “This is a march of people who are not prepared to endure violence and arbitrariness,” he said in the appeal.

The protesters were not intimidated. “The dialogue is not carried out with truncheons and shots in the street,” he continued. The Minsk Interior Ministry had recently openly threatened the use of firearms and live ammunition. The authorities justified it with an alleged radicalization of the opposition movement. The protests have already exploded at least once.

Masked security forces recently acted brutally against peaceful people. There were several injured. At the beginning of the demonstrations in August, there was massive police violence. The democracy movement always calls for peaceful action.

During the protests last Sunday, the security forces detained more than 700 people. They also use flash grenades, tear gas, and water cannons against the crowd. Tens of thousands of participants took to the streets.

Sunday demonstrations are traditionally the most popular. In the past, more than 100,000 people came during rush hours. It is the 10th consecutive weekend with demonstrations. The people are demanding the resignation of Lukashenko, the release of all political prisoners and new elections.

Since the presidential elections on August 9, there have been daily protests in Belarus. The country is going through a serious internal political crisis. After 26 years in power, Lukashenko had again been declared the winner with 80.1 percent of the votes. The opposition, however, sees civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya as the real winner. She fled into EU exile in Lithuania.

Hundreds of women and students from across the country took to the streets against Lukashenko on Saturday. The police detained many young people. The human rights group Wesna spoke of some 40 arrests overnight. The women’s protest march is already a tradition. Students have been participating in the protests with their own actions since the start of the winter semester. But there were also demonstrations by Lukashenko’s followers.