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For four weeks in a row, protests against Alexander Lukashenko’s fraudulent victory in the presidential elections continue in Belarus. Despite the arrests and harsh repressions, the Belarusians are demonstrating again. On September 6, more than 100,000 Belarusians took to the streets of Minsk and other large cities. At the same time, dozens of people were brutally detained by riot police.
Read about what happened during the 29th day of mass protests in Belarus on channel 24 footage.
On the topic Mass protests in Belarus: the latest news and what is known – photos, videos
March of Unity: tens of thousands of protesters in Minsk
- The number of participants in the march in the center of Minsk approached the figures of the previous week, people lying along Independence Avenue. According to preliminary data, more than 100,000 people participate in protests… People keep pouring out of the adjacent streets.
- The protesters approached Lukashenka’s residence. There they were received by hundreds of security agents guarding the palace of the President of Belarus. Eyewitnesses noticed snipers on the rooftops of nearby houses.
- At the same time, interruptions to Internet access began in the city.
Security agents blocked the way to Lukashenko’s residence / Photo by TUT.by
Protesters accuse the Kremlin / Photo TUT.BY
The brutal arrests and beatings of protesters in Minsk
At night, in central Minsk, the security forces brutally detained the protesters. The arrests were carried out throughout the capital, in particular in Freedom Square. In Victory Park, security officers tried to reach, beat and detain some of the protesters. People started jumping into the water.
Unknown people, dressed in black, threw the protesters to the ground. They beat the protesters with batons. The “girls” then stormed the O’Petit Cafe, where the protesters took refuge. They were dragged into the street.
Belarusian Interior Ministry press secretary Olga Chemodanova said the total number of detainees is not yet known. At 20:00, the human rights center “Viasna” reported on 170 detainees in Minsk alone.
Unknown people hit people with truncheons, video:
Pepper spray near the Lukashenka administration
Unidentified people sprayed pepper spray near Lukashenka’s residence in Minsk. This happened alongside the Omon fighters. The Belarusian Interior Ministry said they did not know whether pepper spray was used against the protesters.
According to Russian media, the substance was sprayed after protesters left inscriptions on the shields of security forces. OMON officials diligently plucked these inscriptions.
Security officers tear down protesters’ posters from their shields, video:
Despite the downpour, tens of thousands of Belarusians protest: video
Large-scale column of protesters in Minsk: video
Barbed wire and security forces in Minsk: video
Military equipment detained in central Minsk
- On September 6, Belarusian protesters went to the Unity March, which takes place in Belarus every Sunday. The leader of the opposition, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, asked for this.
- However, it seems that the authorities are not going to be left out. In the center of Minsk, Oktyabrskaya Square was fenced off with barbed wire, and military equipment and hundreds of security officers were also detained there.
- The Belarusian Interior Ministry has already announced the blocking of avenues and the attraction of additional forces and equipment. Thus, the Belarusian authorities promise to fight “riots in protest actions”.
- Security agents in particular blocked subway exits in the central part of the capital. The work of the “metro” is partially blocked, because in several stations the trains do not stop at all.
Protesters gather in Minsk: see photos
The situation in other cities
- Traditionally, the second largest prostitute after Minsk met in Grodno, almost the most pro-European city in Belarus. Security forces also came out to counter the protesters.
- Subsequently, clashes broke out between the two opposing sides, the security forces tried to disperse the people with tear gas. Then the arrests began. The journalists recorded how one of the protesters was carried by the arms and legs of the crowd into the truck.
- People also turned out for protests in Brest, Zhodino, Bobruisk and other big cities.
Clashes in Grodno: watch the video
Arrest of people in Brest: video
- In addition, large-scale protests began in the city of Mogilev, which is located near the border with Russia. Here several hundred people gathered and formed a living “chain” in protest.
The station demanded “Change”
- At Minsk’s main train station, workers played Viktor Tsoi’s song “Changes” through the loudspeaker. This song has long become one of the symbols of the protests in Belarus.
Protests in Belarus: essential elements
- On August 9, presidential elections were held in the country. According to official data from the Central Election Commission, they were won by Alexander Lukashenko. However, data from unofficial exit polls indicate that his main opponent won: opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
- Belarusians disagreed with the election results. Peaceful protests broke out across the country. Riot police dispersed the protesters with rubber bullets and stun grenades.
- On August 11, a national strike began in the country.
Protests in Belarus in recent days: watch the video
