Sunday 08 / September / 2024
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Minsk on Sunday in the latest mass demonstration against the Belarusian government.
The demonstrators, draped in red-and-white opposition flags, descended on Independence Square, chanting slogans against President Alexander Lukashenko, who secured victory in a controversial election earlier this month.
"The government has cut off the internet to avoid images of protests spilling out. Police officers using megaphones are reminding people that the protests are illegal, however, the protesters don't look very scared," said Nick Connolly, DW's correspondent in the Belarusian capital.
Local news outlets published videos on social media showing water cannon and riot police with shields moving towards Independence Square.
So far, authorities have arrested nearly 7,000 people, with protest organizers alleging police of torturing and abusing the detainees.
"We have just two demands: fair elections and stop the violence," 32-year-old Igor told a news agency.
The Defense Ministry announced Sunday it will deploy the army to protect national monuments from protesters and any unrest near these sites will not be tolerated.
The ministry said it would intervene to protect World War II memorials, which it described as "sacred places," and ordered the closure of four metro stations in central Minsk.
"The news [of the army deployment] has outraged people here. So far only the riot police have been used against the protesters. It is unclear whether these soldiers will be willing to use force against unarmed demonstrators," said DW's Connolly.
On Saturday, Belarus' BelTA state news agency cited Lukashenko as ordering his defense minister to enact "the most stringent" army measures while visiting military units at Grodno, near the country's border with Poland.
The autocratic six-term president again claimed NATO troops in Poland and Lithuania were "seriously stirring" near Belarus's borders — assertions denied by trans-Atlantic leaders in recent days.
Belarus' army must "protect the territorial integrity of our country," said Lukashenko, adding "military support is evident," a reference to NATO.
The European Union rejected the Belarus election results and has vowed to impose sanctions over the government's crackdown on protesters.
Top EU diplomat Josep Borell warned that Belarus should not be allowed to become a "second Ukraine" and said it was necessary to deal with the 65-year-old Lukashenko, Europe's longest-serving leader.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the 37-year-old opposition leader who fled to Vilnius after Lukashenko declared victory in the presidential vote, has urged protesters to continue to exert pressure on the authorities, saying it was "important to continue to be united in the struggle for the rights."
The authorities have to understand "we are not a protest movement... we are a majority and we will not step away. We are not afraid of them anymore," she a news agency.
The president's powerful ally, Russia, has warned European leaders against interfering in Belarus, saying it would step in to quell the post-election unrest if necessary.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday slammed Tikhanovskaya and said that her program is "neither constructive nor aimed at a dialogue."
He warned that opposition's call for Lukashenko's resignation is pushing Belarus toward a Venezuela-like scenario, adding that it is impossible to prove that the Belarusian strongman did not win the presidential vote.
Moscow called for a broad national dialogue in Belarus to resolve the situation, according to the RIA news agency.
US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun is scheduled to visit Belarus' neighbor Lithuania next week as part of a trip that will also include a stop in Russia for talks on the election fallout. According to AFP, Biegun has also planned a meeting with Tikhanovskaya.
