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Despite a large contingent of the military and militias, new protests against the ruler Alexander Lukashenko have started in Belarus. Even before the traditional Sunday demonstration, there were numerous arrests, as shown by various portals of the Telegram news channel.
Like the previous Sundays, the metro stations in the city center were closed so that as few people as possible could come to the protests. The authorities also turned off the mobile Internet again so that people would not gather.
The soldiers took positions in the Palace of the Republic. Prisoner vans and hundreds of militiamen waited on the side streets. The presidential palace was secured as a fortress because authorities feared that the protesting crowd might storm Lukashenko’s headquarters. This time, the peaceful protests were specifically directed against Lukashenko’s sixth inauguration, criticized internationally, last Wednesday.
The 66-year-old was sworn in as head of state for the sixth time in a row in a state event that was widely criticized as a secret operation. The democracy movement in Belarus, but also the EU, no longer recognize him as president. The protesters see Svetlana Tichanovskaya, 38, as the real winner of the presidential elections on August 9.
Sunday’s demonstration was, like Saturday’s women’s rally, dedicated to Tichanovskaya, “like a true inauguration of the village.” The opposition leader, who had fled Lukashenko’s power apparatus in neighboring EU country Lithuania, welcomed the courage of her compatriots, who took to the streets for the 50th day in a row and showed no fear despite the brutal arrests.
