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DISAPPOINTMENT: The demonstrations began last month, following accusations of electoral fraud when President Lukashenko claimed victory with more than 80 percent of the vote in the presidential elections.
Protesters showed opposition to police violence in the demonstrations that have marked Minsk for a month. On Sunday, they marched to the presidential palace.
The Reuters news agency writes that more than 100,000 people participated in a demonstration in Minsk on Sunday. On Sunday, police arrested more than 400 people in the capital alone.
Large demonstrations have marked Belarus after the controversial presidential elections on August 9. More than one hundred thousand people participated in several of the demonstrations.
Marched to the presidential palace
Sunday moved protesters heading towards the Drozdy residential area in Minsk, the BBC reported. President Lukashenko’s palace, as well as the homes of several other leaders of the country, are located in this area.
The roads will be blocked by the police. A shot was fired into the air in this area, to scare the protesters, Reuters reports.
Videos on the news website Tut.by show clashes where police use batons against protesters.
The protesters came forward to show opposition to the police violence that has taken place during the protests since August. This is the fifth Sunday in a row that people have taken to the streets of Minsk to express their discontent.
Demonstrations will also take place in the cities of Brest, Homjel and Mahiljow on Sunday.
ARREST: A woman is arrested by masked forces during the mass demonstrations in Minsk. Photo: TUT.BY / X80001
Security forces masked in police cars and military vehicles were deployed in the center of the capital Minsk ahead of Sunday’s event, which has been dubbed the “March of Heroes.”
Russia promises support
The former leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has so far refused to resign as a result of the protests.
On Sunday, according to Reuters, he receives support from Russia, which has traditionally been a major supporter of the Belarusian president’s regime.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that it will send paratroopers to the country to conduct a military exercise with Belarusian forces. Russia has also said it can help with the rogue police, if necessary.
DEMONSTRATE AGAINST VIOLENCE: Thousands of protesters show discontent in Minsk. The demonstrations have been going on for more than a month. Photo: TUT.BY / X80001
On Monday, Lukashenko will also travel to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin.
Kidnap opposition leaders
The country’s authorities have intensified the persecution of opposition leaders in the country in the last month. Of the eight members of the opposition coordination council, only one has not been kidnapped, arrested or fled the country.
Of the council members, only 72-year-old former Nobel Prize winner Svetlana Alexeyevich remains in the country overall. The Coordinating Council has worked to achieve a peaceful transition to a new board.
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– There are no longer any of my like-minded friends in the leadership of the coordinating council. They are all in prison or deported abroad. They took the last one today, Maxim Znak, Alexeyevich wrote in a press release on Wednesday.
He is currently receiving personal protection from the Swedish embassy in Minsk, after masked men allegedly tried to enter his apartment.
One of the other leaders, Maria Kolesnikova, was tried for deportation to Ukraine, but broke her own passport to avoid extradition. She claims that she was kidnapped with a sack on her head and threatened to “cut her to pieces”.
