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Factory workers chanted slogans, students took to the streets and police made arrests as Belarusians responded to an opposition call for a national strike to force President Alexander Lukashenko to resign, images from local media showed.
Lukashenko defied an ultimatum to hand over power before midnight, challenging his opponents to carry out a threat to paralyze the country with strikes, nearly three months after his disputed election victory sparked mass protests.
If sustained, the strikes could open a new phase in the crisis, testing whether the opposition has the massive support it needs to stop businesses across the country of 9.5 million people.
Previously, the opposition organized some strikes in state factories, but they were not maintained.
Local media reported on strike groups at many of the major state-controlled companies. However, the prime minister’s spokeswoman said that all major industrial companies in the country were operating normally.
Plainclothes security officers stood next to pickup trucks in front of the Minsk Tractor Factory and the Minsk Automobile Plant. One person was detained, a witness said.
Hundreds of students emerged from various Minsk universities clapping and singing as passing cars honked their horns in support.
On one street, black-clad officers wearing masks got out of the trucks, detaining people and taking them away, images from the Tut.by news website showed.
A group of students ran out after being dispersed by police, images from Nasha Niva showed.
Exiled opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has urged Belarusians to block roads, close workplaces, stop using government shops and services, and withdraw all money from their bank accounts.
Mr. Lukashenko has scoffed and asked “Who will feed the children?”
Yesterday, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya called for the strike to continue after police fired stun grenades and detained dozens of people in protests of tens of thousands in Minsk and elsewhere, the 11th consecutive weekend of large demonstrations.
“The regime once again showed Belarusians that force is the only thing it is capable of,” he said in a statement. “That is why tomorrow, October 26, a national strike will begin.”
If the strikes are about to paralyze the country, it could be further proof of Russian support for its ally, Mr Lukashenko.
Since the crisis began, Russia has backed it with a $ 1.5 billion loan and increased security cooperation, including a series of joint military exercises and a visit last week by the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency. .
Russia even sent journalists to staff at Belarusian state television when employees resigned in protest against what they described as propaganda.
Lukashenko, 66, has been in power for 26 years. The official results showed him as the overwhelming winner of the August 9 elections.
The opposition and western countries say the vote was successful, which he denies.
Since then, around 15,000 people have been arrested during the crackdown on mass demonstrations. Almost all the opposition leaders fled or were imprisoned.
Western countries have imposed travel bans and asset freezes against some officials whom they accuse of electoral fraud and human rights abuses, but have had to balance their support for the pro-democracy movement with reluctance to provoke Russia. .
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