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- Minsk police officers cracked down on protesting critics of head of state Alexander Lukashenko.
- During Saturday’s protests, in which thousands of women participated, there were about 70 arrests, according to the Wesna Human Rights Center.
- There were also demonstrations in other cities.
Head of state Alexander Lukashenko had recently held the highest positions in the security apparatus and called for tough action against unauthorized protests. The rallies of their opponents are not approved in principle, only those of the fans, who gathered in small numbers on Saturday in the center of the Victory Column.
At the same time, Lukashenko’s opponents gathered in Freedom Square. The demonstration was mainly directed against the imprisonment of opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova. “Give us back our Masha,” chanted the women.
Women demonstrate every day against President Lukashenko.
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The reluctance towards women is on the wane
Masked security forces surrounded the women in Freedom Square, grabbed them tightly, and put them into prisoner trucks. A young woman suffered a laceration to her face from being beaten by a police officer when he removed the mask from the face of a uniformed man and the man beat him with all his force. Many women managed to continue the protest march afterwards. The march later joined forces with other women until the crowd swelled into the thousands.
Until now, the security forces have largely cracked down on women and arrested mainly men. Therefore, many protesters participated in the actions. Saturdays are traditionally marked by protests by women. In the end, however, they too came into the sights of the officers. Police had previously urgently warned against participation.
Until now, the police have cracked down on women who demonstrate, that has now changed.
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Svetlana Tichanowskaja, who sees herself as the rightful winner of the presidential elections on August 9, condemned police violence against women from her exile in the EU. “I want to warn you that anyone who commits crimes against peaceful protesters and their people will be held responsible for them,” the 38-year-old said. “You have the opportunity to side with the people and stop executing criminal orders.”
Great show on Sunday
The democracy movement has called the fifth mass demonstration against Lukashenko this Sunday. While thousands participate in protests on Saturdays, tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands are out and about on Sundays. On this occasion, Sunday’s demonstration has as its theme “March of Heroes”, which is also dedicated to the imprisoned Kolesnikova. The 38-year-old is accused of trying to take power illegally. His lawyer had called it absurd.
There have been daily protests in Belarus since the presidential elections more than a month ago. After more than 26 years in power, Lukashenko claims victory in the elections with more than 80 percent of the votes. However, the opposition considers Tichanovskaya to be the real winner. The election is criticized internationally for being grossly falsified.
