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In the Belarusian capital, Minsk, tens of thousands of people protested against the government of President Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday. The Interior Ministry had previously threatened the use of firearms.
According to the Interfax news agency, more than 30,000 people attended the rally. The exact number of protesters was difficult to estimate as they marched through the capital in different groups. They shouted “Long live Belarus” and “Lukashenko in the prison car”. Actions were also carried out in other cities.
The Interior Ministry announced that more than a hundred people were arrested in the demonstration, known as the “partisan march”. The human rights organization Wjesna had reported around 80 arrests in the evening, most of them in Minsk.
Shots were reportedly fired: the Interior Ministry told Interfax and RBK news agencies that officials had fired into the air after protesters threw stones. This information could not be independently verified. None of the Belarusian media outlets that had reporters on the scene reported attacks on the security forces. According to the Interior Ministry, rubber bullets were used.
Until now, the security forces had mainly used water cannons, rubber bullets and stun grenades against protesters. On Sunday, they also launched fireworks from moving minibuses in the direction of the protesters, reporters present reported. There were also tumultuous scenes, especially on the brink of protests: there, security forces beat protesters and removed occupants from cars.
In general, the security forces tried to prevent the influx of more people to the marches. They blocked streets in the center of the capital with barbed wire and closed metro stations. Unlike the opposition rallies on the previous Sunday, Lukashenko’s opponents did not march through Minsk city center this time, but instead demonstrated on a main road in the south of the city. During the protests, the city’s mobile Internet did not work at times.
Ten protest weekends in a row
Hundreds of women and students from across the country took to the streets against Lukashenko on Saturday. According to the Interior Ministry, there were almost 60 arrests. The journalists were also taken into police custody, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said.
It is now the 10th consecutive weekend that members of the opposition have demonstrated against the government. The protests were sparked by the presidential elections on August 9, which Lukashenko officially won with 80 percent of the vote. The protesters, however, accuse him of electoral fraud. The European Union does not recognize the choice either. Lukashenko has ruled the country for 26 years and is supported by Moscow.
The security forces of the former Soviet republic arrested more than 13,000 people during the protests. Opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya asked Lukashenko last week to resign before October 25. Otherwise, the whole country will take to the streets and paralyze it with strikes. Tichanovskaya is in Lithuania, where he went for his safety after the elections.
