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“Dear Belarusians! Today was an important day. Retirees stood up for students during marches and students supported retirees. Drivers blocked traffic on the roads so as not to get lost [milicijos] special equipment to share with IT staff. IT staff took to the streets to support the doctors. The doctors were in the same solidarity chains with the private company. Private companies have closed their doors to show solidarity with the striking factories. At that time, the factory workers were stopping their work so that we could all live in a free country, ”said a statement posted on the Cichanouskaya channel on the Telegram correspondence platform.
“This force of solidarity has scared the regime. It uses repression again because it cannot do anything else. You are already trying to pressure and forgive [iš darbo]. They think that in this way they will return you to work and can live again at your expense, added the opposition leader who left for Lithuania after the elections. – Today, however, we succeeded, because each of you demonstrated heroism for a friend, a colleague, a compatriot. The factory workshops did not function to set off a chain reaction of solidarity. Today was an important day and I think it was just the beginning. “
Cichanouskaya had previously called on Lukashenko to resign on Sunday, end violence against protesters and release political prisoners, and warned that a general strike would be declared in the country.
The 66-year-old autocrat, accused by the opposition of rigging the August presidential elections, ignored the ultimatum and the militias cracked down on opposition protesters on Sunday and Monday.
301 people were detained in Belarus during Monday’s protests, the Viasna human rights center said.
According to the center, most of the people were arrested in Minsk. Arrests were also made in Brest, Vitebsk, Grodno, Gomel, Lida, Navapolacke and other cities.
For the third month in a row, there have been massive protests in Belarus over the presidential election on August 9, which has been declared the winner by Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994. The opposition and Western democracies consider these elections rigged .
The protesters are demanding the resignation of Lukashenko, the release of political prisoners and new elections.
A new march in the center of the capital on Monday afternoon, which the opposition called “a national campaign in support of the strikes.”
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