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The police take away a woman who participated in the protest march. Image: keystone
Belarus: 150,000 people on the street ++ Minsk is like a police fortress
Tens of thousands of people in Belarus (Belarus) protested against the ruler Alexander Lukashenko for the fifth Sunday in a row, despite massive police violence against women. “Here we have the power!”, “This is our city!” and “Uchodi!” – in German: “Get out!” – and “Freedom!” chanted Lukashenko’s opponents in Minsk.
They gathered from different directions in the center, in a protest march under the slogan “March of the Heroes”. The massive demonstration was dedicated to the imprisoned opposition leader Maria Kolesnikowa and other members of the democracy movement. Observers put the number at a total of 150,000 people, more than on Sunday a week ago.
More than 250 people were arrested in Minsk alone, the Interior Ministry announced in the afternoon. There were also protests in other cities in the country, including Vitebsk and Grodno. In Vitebsk, the police cracked down on peaceful protesters. The people were arrested for attending an unauthorized mass event and for using illegal symbols, he said. In Brest, strong security forces used a water cannon against the people. Many protesters carried the historic white, red and white flag of Belarus, which has become a symbol of the democratic movement.
The capital was like a fortress. Hours before the march began, a large contingent of police and army took up position. Authorities shut down mobile internet so that protesters could not communicate through the demonstration route. Subway stations and underpasses were closed. The Plaza de la Independencia was surrounded by uniformed men and closed with metal bars, according to a reporter from the German Press Agency. At the Palace of the Republic in the center of the city, uniformed men tied barbed wire to metal bars.
There were trucks of prisoners and security guards on many side streets. In different parts of the city, despite the threatening atmosphere of the city, people formed columns and moved to the center of the city, to Prospekt der Sieger street. From there, the protest march moved to the presidential palace and the memorial stele for the victims of World War II. A large crowd could be seen in aerial photographs of the site.
According to the media, there were warning shots in the area where the presidential palace is located. Initially, a confirmation from authorities was not available. There, the head of state Lukashenko had recently shown himself with a bulletproof vest and a Kalashnikov in hand. The security apparatus has been trying to suppress the protests for weeks. According to Minsk analyst Artyom Schraibman, it is mainly police violence and arrests that repeatedly trigger new protests. People are generally peaceful.
It is true that the power apparatus had recently removed members of the opposition out of the country or in jail. But people don’t need leadership, they organize, said civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanowskaja. From the point of view of the protest movement, the 38-year-old is the real winner of the presidential elections on August 9. Tichanowskaja had asked her compatriots from her forced exile in the EU country Lithuania to be brave and take part in the protest march.
Swetlana Tichanowskaja. Image: sda
“The question now is whether the movement will manage to keep the protests at this level,” said political scientist Valeri Karbelewitsch of the dpa in Minsk. “But if more come and police violence against peaceful citizens escalates, then the phenomenon of layoffs in the public service may increase and become dangerous for Lukashenko,” the 65-year-old said at a meeting. “It is a revolution, so everything is difficult to predict.”
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Since the elections more than a month ago, there have been daily protests across the country. Lukashenko, 66, had recently changed the top of the security apparatus and called for a tougher crackdown on protesters. During traditionally organized women’s protests on Saturday, unidentified masked uniformed people used force against protesters. There were more than 100 arrests. Several women were injured in a fight with the security forces.
Lukashenko has repeatedly emphasized that even after 26 years in office he will do everything possible to stay in power. According to the constitution, the inauguration must take place within two months after the election, that is, no later than October 9. His fifth term officially expires in November.
Aljaksandr Lukashenka. Image: sda
Lukashenko is expected to seek the support of his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin during a visit scheduled for Monday and then announce the date of the sixth inauguration. The meeting is scheduled in Sochi, on the Black Sea.
Putin had recently announced troops to his ailing colleague if the situation in the country of more than 9 million inhabitants between Poland and Russia, a member of the EU, worsened. The armed forces of Russia and Belarus plan to conduct an 11-day military exercise starting Monday. The maneuver is planned on the border with Poland. (sda / dpa)
