Third weekend of protests in Belarus: thousands of people in the square. 125 arrests in Minsk. I used the water cannons against the crowd. All photos

For the third consecutive weekend, they are Tens of thousands protesters took to the streets a Minsk to protest against the president Alexander Lukashenko, re-elected for the sixth time on August 9 between clashes of the square and accusations of electoral fraud. The authorities have ordered a massive deployment of law enforcement agencies and The army It has blocked several roads in the capital, to prevent citizens from reaching the sensitive places of power. According to information reported by local media, the protesters were attacked with water cannons although they are protesting peacefully.

Videos and images circulating on the web show uniformed officers Many citizens are taken away, while the surrounding people shout “shame” at the police. In Minsk, security forces attempted to expel protesters from the center using all terrain with front mounted metal grids. Some women have stretched out on the street to stop the advance of the vehicles. The spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior of Belarus, Olga Chemodanova, quoted by the Russian news agency Sputnik, claimed that so far the Belarusian police have made 125 arrests in the square on charges of involvement in “Massive events Not authorized “.

On August 16, the opposition managed to bring almost 100 thousand people on the streets of Minsk despite pressure and threats from the authorities. The same thing happened again on August 23. According to many local media, it was two major manifestations in the history of the country. But Lukashenko did not stare: only yesterday did he take a close against him journalists (The accreditations of 17 foreign journalists have been withdrawn), while operations with Moscow have been carried out for days to assure the president of the support of the Russian military forces. Vladimir Putin invited Lukashenko to “listen to the protesting people,” but at the same time let it be known that he had constituted a “replacement unit security forces ”ready to intervene.

A situation that is of increasing concern to the international community. Faced with the offensive against foreign media launched by Lukashenko, the Germany let it be known that he will summon The Embassador Belarusian. This was reported by a German government source. In Italy the minister Luigi di maio condemns the line of the Belarusian president, while the French chancellor Jean-Yves Le Drian explains that “the arbitrary measures adopted by the Belarusian authorities against journalists are contrary to freedom of the press. I appeal to immediately withdraw these measures. The urgency in Belarus is for an inclusive national dialogue. Repressive measures against journalists cannot contribute to this objective ”.