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After Lukashenko declared himself the winner of the presidential election on Sunday night, 79.7 percent voted for him according to preliminary polls. voters – electoral farce enraged the Belarusians took to the streets. Here they were greeted by large militias and forces from Omon. Both in Minsk and in the regions, clashes between protesters and law enforcement agencies broke out quickly and injuries were inevitable.
Clashes with the militia are reported both in Minsk and in other cities. Initially, seven people were reported to have been injured in clashes with the militia in Minsk: three wounded by rubber bullets, one struck by officials, one chest wound from an explosive grenade, and two more wounded in a police van.
However, as protests and clashes continue, there is no doubt that this number will increase dramatically, with many figures bloody in the photos.
The Dožd television channel reported that a militia car in Minsk was suppressing the protesters. According to preliminary data, a militia vehicle crashed into people. Two people were reportedly injured in the incident: a man in the videos bleeds his head.
Автозак сбивает человека в Минске. Video: NEXTA pic.twitter.com/rZb3deCLiS
– Sergey Goryashko (@seriozha_s) August 9, 2020
The Belarusian police have not yet reported the number of detainees and victims. The Viasna human rights center reported that 47 people had been detained in Minsk five hours after the polls closed and 119 in other regions.
Nexta reports that people detained in Brest are being transported to garages because there are no more places of detention.
The Belarusian Interior Ministry has issued a statement saying that the situation in the capital is “under control”. It is worth mentioning that the mobile Internet connection is extremely blocked throughout the country, all news sites are inaccessible. Helicopters of the security forces fly over Minsk.
The Electoral Commission of Belarus announced an electoral turnout of 84.05 percent, but did not provide a final result or forecast. The victory of the preliminary state poll at the polls was given by A. Lukashenko with more than 80 percent. support for.
Around two o’clock in the evening in Minsk, cyclists joined the protesters.
Минск, половина 2 ночи.
Bakers will receive the same treatment, but not in the case of ночные волки. pic.twitter.com/zDIYMp7GUl
– Ilya Pahomov (@ilyapahomov) August 9, 2020
Around three in the afternoon, the protests subsided a bit.
Sound grenades, tear gas and water cannons are used.
The Belarusian security services have taken all possible security measures and completely blocked the center of Minsk, public transport does not work, the metro is closed. Initially these measures paid off, but people gathered on foot in the city center, where clashes with the police broke out.
Стреляют в мирных людей! pic.twitter.com/7o51z20Oyo
– NEXTA (@NEXTA_EN) August 9, 2020
Meduza.io reported on clashes on Victory Avenue in Minsk. Sound grenades echoed through the streets of Minsk and protesters responded by firing flares at militia vehicles. The militia used rubber bullets to scare the crowd away.
It is announced that about 10,000 people gathered on Pergalės avenue. protesters. Initially it was announced that the militia had expelled the people who crowded the avenue, but according to the latest data, the protesters have rejoined the avenue. The first reports of injuries have appeared, but exact data are not yet available.
Беларусы пратэстуюць супраць фальсіфікацыі выбараў pic.twitter.com/TXKPBdJYGV
– Белсат TV (@Belsat_TV) August 9, 2020
In Minsk, officials tried to arrest a group of protesters, OMON officials were expelled by a group of muscular young men. Similar images were repeated in Baranovichi, where officials were pushed down the main street of the city by an angry crowd:
В центре Минска – жесткие драки с ОМОНом, люди вынуждают силовиков отступать
Videos: @tutby pic.twitter.com/PfMormxjoI
– Medication. Беларусь (@mediazona_by) August 9, 2020
I tried to build barricades
MBH Media reports that electricity is off on the adjacent Masherov avenue in the capital. Protesters are reported to have started barricading here with garbage bins and trees, a protester was hit by a sound grenade in the chest, and the man was taken by ambulance. Alexander Skrylnikov, a journalist for MBH Media, was also injured here, and when the sound grenade exploded next to him, the man’s sight and hearing were affected and he was removed from the scene.
❗️Срочно
Используют светошумовые гранаты #minsk pic.twitter.com/tuhgngR0TJ
– Алексей Кириленко (@Kirilenko_a) August 9, 2020
Минск сейчас pic.twitter.com/jRHULTe0IX
– george markov (@pixsl_markov) August 9, 2020
The images on Masherov Avenue are reminiscent of a war zone:
This is the first step of the world. pic.twitter.com/koFRqC2RK0
– Onliner (@OnlinerBY) August 9, 2020
On Niamiha Street (Nemigos), which gives access to Government House, a large number of riot control units lined up, preventing the protesters from entering the city center. It is announced that a platoon of several thousand protesters has moved to Nemigos Street.
В районе Немиги сейчас так. pic.twitter.com/GcqufslLw0
– Onliner (@OnlinerBY) August 9, 2020
A crowd giving five to communal workers in Nemiga in Minsk pic.twitter.com/KLTzDR4ZIu
– Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) August 9, 2020
Belarusians protest against election results
The capital’s main street, Independence Avenue, was completely blocked by militia officers.
In Victory Avenue, the country’s capital, officials had a hard time dispelling hundreds of protesters who were shouting slogans against Lukashenko. As officers tried to arrest several protesters to defend the latter, a crowd of youths led OMON’s men into the country.
The dramatic video of the repression in Minsk. Happening now. pic.twitter.com/LOZb0uRaqx
– Franak Viačorka (@franakviacorka) August 9, 2020
Hundreds of protesters blocked one of Minsk’s main streets, where protesters tried to break through the firewall by lighting up their mobile phones:
ОХРЕНЕТЬ
⚡️ Минск в данные минуты на подступах к стеле# Беларусь # Минск #Belorussia #Minsk pic.twitter.com/Ynfp35oHlg
– Brand (@CBMarkon) August 9, 2020
The protesters were repulsed by officials who used sound grenades and tear gas:
Вот так сейчас в Минске !!# Беларусь #minsk pic.twitter.com/UDZpDsSgjI
– ❌Капитан Торч 🇵🇱🇪🇺 (@Captain_Torch) August 9, 2020
The protests are also spreading to other cities
There are also clashes in other Belarusian cities. Tear gas has been reported in Brest and Grodno. Belsat announces that in the city of Baranovichi, which has 175 thousand. 8-10 thousand people gathered for the rally. persons. The protesters here even have a quantitative advantage over the militia officers, who used the water cannon to pursue the myth. People also gather in Gomel, writes meduza.io.
Belarusians protest against the results of the presidential elections
“The Minsk parking lots near the Jubilejnaja Hotel and near the Sports Palace are full of people. The clashes with OMON have started!” Said the Telegram correspondent in a message published on the channel Strana dlia žizni (Country for life ).
Witnesses to the incident said that militias in Minsk used deafening grenades while chasing several thousand protesters.
“People run away, they hide in the bushes. A drone flies on top ”, says a message from Telegram.
According to witnesses, many ambulances arrived at the rally in central Minsk.
“Many highways go in the wake,” they said, referring to the “Minsk is a hero of the city” monument.
Belarusians protest against election results
Images of clashes between militias and protesters were also posted on his Twitter account by the popular news portal Tut.by, whose main website was unavailable Sunday night. The portal reported that similar incidents are taking place in other Belarusian cities, including Mogilev.
There have also been reports that militias in some regions are refusing to pursue protesters. Such a situation arose in the city of Kobrin, where Omon officials refused to use violence against people and threw shields.
Video of Кобрина. ОМОН опустил щиты. Люди скандируют: “молодцы” и обнимаются с силовиками!
МИЛИЦИЯ С НАРОДОМ! pic.twitter.com/GM5wjZxWim– Беларусь інфармацыі (@NEXTA_EN) August 9, 2020
Results of a statewide voter poll released the previous Sunday showed Lukashenko raised 79.7 percent. votes.
Belarusians protest against election results in Minsk
Political observers said in the vote that there was little doubt that, in the absence of international election observers, Lukashenko had falsified the election results.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an international observer of elections and wars, has not declared elections in Belarus to be free and fair since 1995.
This year, the OSCE declared that it would not send observers to the country because Minsk did not invite them in time. The organization also expressed concern about the intimidation and detention of opposition figures.
The militia blocks the center of Minsk
In Belarus, after the vote in the presidential elections, the militia began to block access to the center of the capital Minsk, writes the opposition news portal tut.by.
Belarusians protest against election results in Minsk
“The militia does not allow people to enter the Plaza de la Independencia. The entrances to the Plaza de Octubre have also been blocked. Officials are on duty at entrances near metro stations; they are allowed in, but people are selectively let out ”, announces one of tut.by’s readers.
PHOTO OF THE DAY:# МИНСК IN OSCE pic.twitter.com/dcFuBQsJvx
– Віталій Барабаненко (@ baraban088) August 9, 2020
“Starting at 7 pm 40 min. Kupalovskaya and Oktiabrskaya metro stations are closed. No trains are transported at these stations. The metro apologizes to passengers for the temporary inconvenience,” said Andrei Drob, official representative of the metro. from Minsk.
Tut.by readers also announce that as of 7 p.m. It became difficult to reach the center of Minsk and other modes of public transport: some routes are stopped, and in other cases public transport stops in the city center do not stop.
Minsk has been completely closed. There is no way in or out pic.twitter.com/k7t9Wf66rj
– Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) August 9, 2020
Around half a dozen at night in Lithuania, the largest opposition news portal, tut.by, became inaccessible.
Independent poll: Tichanovskaya won the elections
A preliminary poll conducted at the polls by the independent newspaper Belarusian Partisan announces that Svetlana Tichanovskaya has won the elections. Almost 65% voted for her. voters.
Lukashenko’s main rival, Tichanovskaya, declared victory at a press conference after the elections.
“It just came to our attention then.” Many have yet to do it, “he said,” I think we’ve won.
Belarusians protest against election results
Nausėda and Duda urge to refrain from violence
As neighbors of Belarus, we call on the Belarusian authorities to fully recognize and adhere to the basic norms of democracy. We call for abstention from violence and respect for fundamental freedoms, human and civil rights, including the rights of national minorities and freedom of expression, according to a statement issued by the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitan Nauseda, and the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda.
We believe that dialogue is always the best way to achieve social progress, to discuss reforms and policies. Respecting the sovereignty of Belarus and its independence, we look forward to favorable conditions for further deepening the partnership with Belarus and its people.
We are convinced that closer cooperation with the European Union is in the interest of Belarus. We want this cooperation to remain open and we are ready to continue supporting Belarus in strengthening its ties with the united European family.
After the presidential elections, protesters clashed with the militia in Belarusian cities.
In the Belarusian capital and chain, militias from other cities clashed at night with protesters protesting the preliminary results of Sunday’s presidential elections, showing that authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko has secured a sixth term despite the growing public dissatisfaction with his control and lax attitude towards the body.
For several weeks, tensions in Belarus have been rising in the run-up to the elections, in which Lukashenko, who has led the country since 1994, has competed with four other candidates. The election campaign saw the largest opposition protests in the country in many years. Opposition supporters said they suspected election officials would manipulate the results to ensure the continuation of the 65-year-old Lukashenko government.
Even before the start of the campaign, election officials did not allow two strong opposition figures to run. Viktor Babaryka, a former head of the Russian-controlled Belgazprombank bank, a potential rival of the president, was arrested in May on suspicion of money laundering and tax evasion. Babaryka herself calls this political case.
The former Belarusian ambassador to the United States at the time, Valery Cepkala, who was planning to run for the presidency, fled to Russia with the children last month to escape possible arrest.
The main opposition candidate, Svetlana Tichanovskaya, a 37-year-old English teacher, came under heavy pressure over the weekend, with eight members of her election staff arrested and one of her top aides fleeing the country on Sunday.
Belarusians, tired of the deterioration of the country’s economic situation and Lukashenko’s repression of the opposition, rallied around Tihanovskaya, who decided to run for office when her husband, popular blogger Sergei Tichanovsky, was arrested and not registered as a candidate. The apparent support for this candidate was unusual in a country where opponents of the regime constantly face clashes.
Lidija Yermoshina, chair of the Central Election Commission, announced the preliminary results early Monday, showing the overwhelming dominance of A. Lukashenko. In some districts, he reportedly received more than 90 percent. votes.
In Minsk, a heavily reinforced militia force was on duty on Sunday, and at night, officers set up checkpoints at city entrances and verified people’s registration details, apparently to prevent protesters from entering. other cities.
Lukashenko himself has promised to crush any protests.
About a thousand protesters gathered at the WWII monument “Minsk – a hero of the city” in the center of Minsk. The police used force to expel them, hitting the protesters with sticks and then with deafening grenades. The protesters tried to build barricades with garbage containers.
A live video feed from Freedom Radio, funded by the United States, showed militants detonating deafening grenades and attacking crowds and fleeing protesters. The channel posted photos showing young protesters with bloody faces and bodies.
The report also indicated that army units had been mobilized to quell protests in the capital.
An AFP journalist saw at least one protester assisted by paramedics. Many other protesters were stopped by law enforcement officers and dragged to the weather vanes.
Images released by opposition-related media show a militia car crashing into a crowd and crushing a protester.
Alexander, a 35-year-old protester who participated in the riots in Minsk, accused Lukashenko of blatantly rigging the elections.
“I came here to protest because my country needs a change of government,” he told AFP. “It is a crime, a mockery of the people.”
Videos posted on social media show that the militia also used a water cannon; there were reports of shots fired with rubber bullets.
After hours of unrest, the state news agency BelTA quoted the Interior Ministry as saying that “the militia is in control.” Until 3 p.m. Most of the local (and Lithuanian) protests in the capital stopped.
Stormy protests also took place in other major cities, including Gomel, Brest, Grodno, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Baranovich and others, reported local media, whose work was severely disrupted by the blocking of mobile and internet connections and sites. Web.
No official reports of arrests or injuries have been released so far, but Alias Biliacki, a spokesperson for the human rights group Viasna, told the AP news agency that several hundred people are likely to be detained and protesters injured. .
Beliacki accused the militia of using excessive force against protesters, most of whom were young.
“The militia responded with disproportionate rudeness, using all their strength,” he told AFP.
Three journalists from the independent Russian television station Dozd were previously detained after an interview with an opposition figure and eventually expelled from the country. An AP journalist was beaten by the militia; they treat him in a hospital.
Ms. Tichanovskaya condemned the police action against the protesters.
“It’s horrible if it’s really happening now,” he said.
His assistant Maria Kolesnikova, for her part, added that “the government makes a big mistake if it uses such methods in the 21st century.”
Tikhanovskaya also rejected a landslide state voter poll showing Lukashenko’s victory.
“I believe with my own eyes and I see that the majority are with us,” he told a news conference.
Political observers predicted that Lukashenko would falsify the election results, especially in the absence of international observers. In the previous 2015 elections, he won by raising more than 83 percent. votes.
Data from the Central Election Commission, released early Monday, showed voter turnout this time at more than 84 percent.
Preliminary results of the vote count showed that Lukashenko got 81.35 percent. 8% voted in favor of Tichanovskaya. voters, Yermoshina said.
Candidate Ana Konopackaja was third, but Yermoshina said the third-largest group was voters who voted against all candidates, about four percent.
Tichanovskaya asked his supporters to be calm on Sunday, given the repression that has become a tradition since the presidential elections.
“I hope everything is peaceful and that the militia does not use force,” he said, casting his voice.
After the 2010 elections, many protesters were beaten during clashes between protesters and militias, six Lukashenko candidates were arrested, and three were later jailed for years.
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