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The rioters fired light grenades and fired into the air in Minsk. They used stun grenades and shot the protesters with rubber bullets. Independent media also report on violent methods such as tear gas in Hrodna and Polatsk. Elite soldiers from the Interior Ministry are also said to have marked the protesters with green paint.
Protesters in Minsk he had marched to the president’s residence to demand his resignation. The building was cordoned off and the protesters’ attempt to engage in dialogue with the soldiers was unsuccessful. In the past, soldiers lowered their shields and received flowers. Now it is again the confrontation that is applied.
In Minsk, the authorities closed the network during the demonstrations. Masked and black-clad riot soldiers chased the protesters, as before. More than a hundred people have been arrested, most of them in Minsk and Hrodna, according to independent media.
A total of several hundred thousand Belarusians took to the streets across the country to demand Lukashenko’s resignation. In Minsk alone, the number of protesters exceeded 100,000.
Photo: AFP
Photo: AFP
Earlier, opposition leader Svyatlana Tsichanouskaja announced that Lukashenko has until October 25 to accept the three opposition demands: Lukashenko must resign, street violence must end, and all political prisoners must be released. As expected, the dictator refused to agree to the demands. Therefore, today’s protests in Belarus have been called the Ultimatum of the People.
That so many people participated in Sunday’s protests clearly show that the fight against Lukashenko continues in full force. At the same time, he is being pressured by the Kremlin, which wants him to introduce constitutional changes that limit the power of the president. Putin also wants to get rid of Lukashenko, but wants it to happen through changes in the law that gradually pull him off the margins.
Russia does not want a real change of power in Belarus. For the Kremlin, it is appropriate that the country remains authoritarian. But the protesters want something more.
The question now is how The big strike on Monday will be. The independent Belarusian news site tut.by claims to have received hundreds of messages from companies in Minsk saying that they will remain closed, but that they do not want to be seen by name in the report. These are gyms, tourism companies, beauty salons and design companies, in general, mainly small companies.
The big question is what the big state companies will do. Mr. Lukashenko was previously expelled when he visited a tractor factory on the outskirts of Minsk. Several of the large factories went on strike in August, but their struggle eventually ran aground. If they participate in the strike tomorrow, it will be a defeat for Lukashenko.
