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Participants had brought several historical flags (white and red) from Belarus, as well as portraits of political prisoners.
One of the organizers of the campaign, graphic designer Victoria Andrukovich, 25, said the demonstration aims to show solidarity with detainees and those currently protesting in their home country.
“This demonstration is aimed at those who are currently illegally detained in Belarus, we currently have more than 20 political prisoners in Belarus,” Andrukovich told BNS.
According to her, on June 19 he was chosen for the demonstration not by chance: on this day, the candidates and their signatures for the elections are registered in Belarus.
“There is a lot of repression right now, especially those who support our alternative candidates, there are also illegal registrations, people are being illegally accused,” said one of the organizers of the demonstration.
The girl also added that Vincas Kudirka Square was chosen for the demonstration due to the proximity of the European House and the Lithuanian Government.
Violeta, a 44-year-old engineer, said she had lived in Lithuania for five years, saying she wanted to be proud of her country but could not because of the current regime.
“We are here because we want to be proud of our homeland, we want to be proud of our president; the current president is not satisfied with us,” a Belarusian living in Lithuania told BNS.
“We want elections without Lukashenko”
The Belarusians who participated in the demonstration unanimously said they wanted free and democratic elections.
Posters could be seen at the rally demanding that current President Alexander Lukashenko restore citizens’ voting rights.
24-year-old designer Mikhail Prokudin said he wanted free and democratic elections, but he would also like the current head of the country not to participate in them.
“We want transparency without Mr. Lukashenko, transparency in the elections in which we can freely choose,” the young man carrying the white and red Belarusian flag at the demonstration told BNS.
Belarusian police authorities are cracking down on opposition candidates ahead of the elections, during which Lukashenko will seek reelection for a sixth term.
In early June, Belarusian opposition politician Nikolai Statkevich was arrested for 15 days, and authorities detained dozens of activists after protests across the country.
Another popular opposition blogger, Sergei Tichanovsky, who called Lukashenko a “cockroach,” was arrested last month for violating public order. Authorities launched a criminal investigation into him and his followers.
Belarusian authorities also arrested Viktor Babarik, a former rival of President Lukashenko, on Thursday. He is said to have been arrested for alleged financial crimes.
Another presidential candidate, Jurijus Gubarevičius, was also arrested.
9 million Belarus, a 65-year-old former collective farm president, has been in charge of Belarus since 1994. In November of last year, he did not rule out running twice more.
The presidential elections in Belarus take place on August 9.
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