“We are strictly warning: In case of disturbance of order and peace in these places – you will not have to deal with the police, but with the army,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
There was a strong presence of security forces in the capital as opposition protesters began arriving in Independence Square, with protesters warning over a loudspeaker to disperse and stop their public order laws.
Independent observers criticized the August 9 poll for the country as neither free nor fair. And much of the international community has expressed solidarity with the Protestants, putting pressure on Lukashenko to give in to calls for a new vote.
But the president has doubled, even admitting that there will be no new elections “until you kill me.” Last Sunday, Lukashenko told a rally in central Minsk that Belarus was being threatened by “foreign troops.”
The United Nations said Friday it was “disturbed” that no action had been taken to investigate reports of “large-scale torture and ill-treatment” of people and children arrested in connection with the protests.
European Council President Charles Michel said two days earlier that the European Union would “briefly” impose sanctions on a substantial number of individuals responsible for violence, oppression and electoral fraud “following an emergency summit of the bloc’s leaders over the” ever-changing situation “in the land.
“The protests in Belarus are not about geopolitics. This is primarily a national crisis. It is about the right of the people to choose their leadership freely. We stand firm for the right of the Belarusian people to to determine their own destiny, “said Michel.
“On August 9, Belarus held elections. These elections were neither free nor fair and did not meet international standards. We recognize the results not presented by the Belarusian authorities,” Michel said, adding that “the people of Belarus Russia deserves the democratic right to elect its leaders and shape its future. “
Michel also condemned the “shocking and unacceptable” violence against “peaceful Protestants.”
Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya remains in Lithuania, where she fled after the controversial presidential election.
Katharina Krebs contributed to this report. Amy Woodyatt wrote from London.
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