[ad_1]
On Sunday, protesters chanted “Lukashenko to the police bus”, “Court”, “Sasha, taste the tea, put Putin on. Protests were also held in other cities: Gomel, Brest, Mogilev, Grodno, Lida, Babruysk.
Videos appeared on social media as protesters tore the veils off riot police officers who attacked them and then retreated. Information about the captured and identified officials appears in the Belarusian Black Book on the Telegram platform.
VIDEO: See how the weekend was in Belarus: perhaps the largest crowd has gathered since the start of the protests
According to the Belarusian Interior Ministry, 633 people were arrested during Sunday’s protests, 363 of them were taken to prisons.
Sunday’s protests are believed to have been the largest since the night of August 9, when the presidential elections were held. It is true that crowds of a similar size took to the streets on Sundays throughout the month of August.
The determination to protest does not fade
Maksimas Milta, communication director of the European Humanities University (EHU) in Vilnius, who has been observing them in Minsk since the start of the protests. 15 minutes He said he saw no signs that people would soon stop participating in the protests.
“On the contrary, I see and hear more determination. Clearly, expecting hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets every day would be naive and unconstructive. However, reaching completion on Sunday creates a good stimulus for next week, ”said M. Milta.
He stressed that the protests since August 9, when officials announced that the presidential elections were defeated by a large majority by leader Aliaksandr Luakshenko, are decentralized, without a clear leader.
Managed by Cabbage / Photo 15min / Harina Maxima
According to M. Milta, the largest movement took place in residential areas last week.
“Belarusians are very close, but right now there is an acquaintance with their neighbor, the public, when people realize that they are united by many things: opposition to violence, humiliation of people, contempt for them. This is probably the most important unifying driver, especially visible in residential initiatives, ”said the EHU Director of Communications.
According to M. Milta, an important tool to support this type of initiative has become the Telegram platform, which already has more than a hundred local groups geographically “linked” to residential areas. On Sunday a new tool appeared: an interactive map that allows you to see the closest group correspondence in the district.
“To my surprise, political scientists and people who comment on the events in Belarus, for some reason, often increase the fatigue of (the protesters). But being in Minsk since August 1, I do not see that fatigue.” 15 minutes said Mr. Milta.
According to the EHU Director of Communications, Belarusians react very strongly to every expression of violence: “The more violence, the more people take to the streets, they don’t support it.”
Milta talks about the ongoing repression: On Sunday, formless men wearing masks and rubber sticks took to the streets and began beating everyone who crossed their path. As the protesters hid in one of the cafes, plainclothes officers broke her glass. It soon became clear that one of them was a high-ranking Interior Ministry official, Nikalojus Karpiankojus, who heads the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime.
“A guy was lying on the ground next to the cafe, who was beaten with sticks by untrained officials. A lady ran up to him and lay on top, trying to defend him with her body. I think this is more than proof that people they are committed to defending each other, and this is especially evident in Belarusian women.
Photo by Scanpix / ITAR-TASS / Protester and officials in Minsk
During this and the women’s march last Saturday, they showed that the fear is gone. Naturally, when you see the manifestations of violence, you cannot be indifferent, but violence is not what scares you ”, assured M. Milta.
The protests are fueled by creativity, women
Belarusian journalist and analyst Francis Vyachorka cited the reasons why he believes the protests will not go away.
“The protest is creative. People use technology and art. Every protest seems like a festival, attractive and fun,” writes F. Viacorka.
Furthermore, the protests are led by women. “Women are in the front line. Women defend men. Women are not afraid of the police and act so unpredictably that they mislead officials. In addition, Sviatlana Cichanouskaya is the leader of the protest ”, he assures.
Viachorka assures that the protests will continue because they are peaceful. “If the protest is peaceful, the officials look stupid with armored cars, water cannons and armed men. “The peaceful nature of the protest gives a moral advantage to the protesters and restricts officials, as they somehow need to justify the use of violence,” the journalist wrote.
Earlier interview with famous Belarusian researcher Anais Marin 15 minutes setthat the Belarusian protesters are doing quite well because they have managed to stay at peace.
“Reuters” / “Scanpix” nuotr./Protestuotojai Minske
S.Cichanouskaja, who announced the winner of the elections, does not doubt the continuation of the protests.
“The protests will continue. Their forms will change. New people will join. It is impossible for people to give up. This is a matter of principle. It is a true global uprising,” he said in an interview with The National Interest.
Maryja Kalesnikava was kidnapped
On Monday morning, unidentified masked persons in the center of Minsk led a member of the Presidium of the Coordinating Council in the unknown direction, Maryja Kalesnikava, who had worked as a winner in the Sviatlan Cichanouskaya campaign. The Minsk militia has denied having detained one of the most prominent members of the Belarusian opposition.
Milt said he would not want to predict how Kalesnikava’s abduction would affect the protests.
AFP / Photo by Scanpix / Maryja Kalesnikava at the Unity Rally in Minsk
“But do you remember when Cichanouskaya was forced to leave Belarus, did her absence in the country affect any protests? No. Did Olga Kovalkova’s resignation reduce the protests in any way? No. Did Latatu’s departure have any effect? Not too much. This list can go on.
Understand correctly: The Coordinating Council is an important way to institutionalize the protest, an inevitable step, very important above all to ensure the peaceful transfer of power to the elected government. However, the Coordinating Council is not a command center, indicating in which direction, what time to go and what to do. The peculiarity of this protest is that the people gather on their own. ” 15 minutes said Mr. Milta.
Shortly after the elections, S. Cichanouskaja and his followers formed a Coordination Council, which called for a dialogue, which would also discuss the organization of presidential elections.
VIDEO: Detainees in Belarus spoke of incomprehensible cruelty: “You could hear people being beaten outside all night.”
Kalesnikava, 38, is the only one of the three women who led the Chichanouskaya campaign who is in Belarus. Kalesnikava, a flutist and music teacher, entered politics with the electoral campaign of opposition politician and former banker Viktor Babaryka. Babaryka tried to compete with Lukashenko in the elections, but was jailed and banned from running.
In total, more than 7,000 people were arrested during protests after the presidential elections in Belarus. persons. Those who have left the detention centers and the doctors who treat them speak of torture.
[ad_2]
