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After the violent death of a man, there is anger and sadness in Belarus: the opposition blames the power apparatus
Masked security forces in Belarus (Belarus) used massive violence to oppose new protests against the ruler Alexander Lukashenko. In the capital Minsk, uniformed men used tear gas and stun grenades against peaceful protesters on Sunday, as videos from the Telegram news channel show. In this way the individual rallies were dissolved. Human rights group Wesna initially spoke of more than 300 arrests in the afternoon.
Again the journalists were among them. Protesters could be seen fleeing black uniforms or preventing arrests. There were disputes. The security forces repeatedly beat people. Uniformed men with assault rifles were seen in the streets. The police dragged and herded men and women onto prisoner trucks and minibuses.
There were several injured. A noise grenade reportedly hit a woman in the foot. One video showed an unconscious man in a patch of grass receiving medical treatment from men in uniform. It is said that he was beaten beforehand.
Several thousand people were in large groups in Minsk. They shouted “Long live Belarus”. Initially, no reliable estimates were available because the crowd was divided among several rallies. There were also actions in other cities. Sunday demonstrations are the most popular.
Once again, around 15 metro stations in Minsk were blocked so that protesters could not enter the city center. The mobile internet was also largely shut down, this time in the morning. The authorities wanted to make meetings difficult at meetings. In addition, several streets and squares were cordoned off, some with heavy equipment.
Since the presidential elections on August 9, the country has experienced a serious internal political crisis. Lukashenko, 66, had been declared the winner with 80.1 percent of the vote. The EU no longer recognizes him as president. The opposition sees civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya as the real winner. He fled to the EU country Lithuania, fearing for his safety.
Now was the 99th day of the protest. The protesters recalled the death of a 31-year-old a few days ago. The man whom the democratic movement reveres as a hero is said to have been attacked. A day later he died from his injuries. “We will not forgive the death of Roman Bondarenko,” Tichanovskaya wrote before the protests began on Telegram. The people of Belarus must continue to fight together for freedom and their lives.
Civil rights activist Tichanovskaya spoke of some 18,000 people who are said to have been detained since the protests began. An alleged internal report from the security authorities circulated on Telegram, in which almost 26,000 people had been arrested. The Ministry of the Interior had not recently provided information on the number of arrests. Lukashenko had repeatedly threatened to crack down on his power apparatus.
In interviews with various foreign media, the 66-year-old man again made it clear that he did not want to leave his post. “Even if I am alone, I will fight with my hands for what I have built for a quarter of a century.” He refused to speak to his opponents.
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