Protests in Belarus: tens of thousands marched in Minsk, hundreds were detained

The Belarusians again held a large-scale protest rally in the center of Minsk, after which the arrests and beatings of protesters began. Sunday, September 6, marked four weeks of mass protests in the Belarusian capital and other cities of the country. Writes about this BBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

Demonstrators marched through the center of Minsk in a “March of Unity”. Judging by photos and videos from the scene, tens of thousands of people took part in the action.

Tut.by, Nexta and other media published videos showing how, after the mass action, people in civilian clothes wearing masks and with truncheons beat the protesters and detained them.

In one video, people in civilian clothes are using batons to break the glass of a coffee shop in the center of Minsk, in another, the same people in civilian clothes are beating a guy, a girl in a red and white cape runs up to him and covers him with herself.

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On the third, the crowd literally snatches a man with a flag from the hands of the police; a black mask falls from one of the men in a black jacket, he tried to start a fight with the protesters, but his colleagues stopped him.

According to media reports, the number of detainees is already in the hundreds; Basically, the police took them away after the action. Olga Chemodanova, a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, also speaks about “several hundred” detainees. According to the human rights center "Viasna", a total of more than 190 people were detained in Minsk.

During the day, the authorities, as in previous days, blocked streets and closed metro stations in the city center.

The tactical at #Belarus| ian protests - which reached record numbers today - has changed. Riot police (OMON) beat peaceful protestors up less. Instead, thugs in balaclavas with batons do the dirty work. Who are these people? #LiveBelarus pic.twitter.com/ouPtMNClug

- Ian Mac Eochagáin (@maceochi) September 6, 2020

Many eyewitnesses say that mobile Internet did not work in the area where the demonstrations took place. Just like during previous actions, the Belarusian company A1 (mobile operator and provider) reported that Internet bandwidth is limited “in accordance with the orders of authorized government bodies.”

There are water cannons and military equipment on the streets of Minsk. In the center of the city, people in camouflage uniforms guarded the government building and the “Minsk - Hero City” stele. They are surrounded by barbed wire. And this is where the protesters were heading. As in previous days, they approached the Palace of Independence, where the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko usually works. The palace was taken under guard; water cannons were visible among the equipment.

People stood at the Palace of Independence for several hours. One of the protesters tried to write a slogan on the billboards of the cordon, in response the police used gas.

Protester near the Independence Palace, the residence of #Lukashenko #Minsk #Belarus #Lukashenkoout #belarusprotests # zhivebelara #Belarus pic.twitter.com/KrpU3f9z7k

- Alex Alexandrova (@Alexpolitalex) September 6, 2020

Around 16:00 local time, it started raining heavily, some of the people dispersed, some continued to stand in front of the cordon until the evening. Those who departed left flowers on the barbed wire of the cordon.

Groups of protesters gathered in their neighborhoods and walked from there to the city center. The police tried to prevent them from gathering. On several squares and streets on the way to the city center, the police blocked the way for the protesters and tried to block them.

The TUT.by website, which counted the number of protesters using a special program, estimated the number of those who came out on September 6 at 100.

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Similar actions took place in other cities of Belarus - Brest, Gomel, Mogilev, Molodechno, Baranovichi.

In Hrodna, police also blocked protesters and may have used tear gas against them. In the video published by the Telegram channel, people are coughing and covering their faces; shouts are heard: “Gas!”

In #Minsk this morning, massive demonstrations are planned. Armored infrantry vehicles can be seen driving to the city. They were used around the palace the previous weekends. Note that these # BTR80 are equipped with a heavy MG. #Belarus #Belarusprotest #Lukashenko # zhivebelara pic.twitter.com/Jc9zKVj820

- Phil. Schockweiler (@greenschocky) September 6, 2020

There is no exact data on the arrests yet, but telegram channels and Belarusian websites covering the protest say that they saw people being taken to police cars.

Protest actions have been going on every day since August 9.

Controversial elections

The presidential elections in Belarus took place on August 9. On the same day, protests began against their results: incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won more than 80% of the vote, his main opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya - about 10%.

The #Lukashenko regime is now cracking down on the student movement hard. Beating up the future of the country. But like the past days there's too many or them and you can't beat & lock them up all. #belarus #supportBelarus #FreeBelarus #Belarus # Belarus2020 #Minsk # zhivebelara pic.twitter.com/F9nVhf2Yro

- Phil. Schockweiler (@greenschocky) September 1, 2020

During the actions, hundreds of people were detained, at least three were killed, about 60 are considered missing. Criminal cases were initiated.

Tikhanovskaya was forced to leave for Lithuania. The election results were recognized by Russia and several other countries of the former USSR. In Europe, the results are not recognized, the Baltic states have announced sanctions against Lukashenka and another thirty people from his entourage.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• In Belarus, on Sunday, August 9, the presidential elections were held, which were initially accompanied by mass protests of people who disagreed with the policies of the current president, Alexander Lukashenko, who has been ruling the country for 26 years. After the announcement of the results protests erupted with renewed vigor, many disagree and doubt their veracity.
• Thousands of people gathered to protest against falsification of elections in Belarus. They are beaten and dispersed by the security forces. One person died... Svetlana Tihanovskaya left the country.
• On August 12, the European Union and the United States announced that the presidential elections in Belarus on August 9, in which the incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko was declared the winner, were neither free nor fair... The EU and the US plan to impose new sanctions against Minsk.
• August 12 police officers opened fire to kill the protesters.
• 12 August women in different cities of the country formed living chains and sang lullabies near the monuments. TV presenters were fired from state channels, and military personnel and police officers threw uniforms and insignia into garbage cans.
• How detained protesters are bullied in Belarus, read in our material.
• For those affected by the protests already raised over two million dollars... At the same time, the money is collected through the personal Facebook of the campaign organizer, and there will be no detailed reporting on payments. But this is the only working scheme for Belarus - otherwise the fundraisers may be jailed.
• August 16, Minsk hosted the largest political protest in the history of Belarus - hundreds of thousands of people came out under white-red-white flags. The “Freedom March”, as the opposition called its action, took place immediately after the rally in support of President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
• On August 19, a coordinating council of the opposition, created by supporters of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya for the transfer of power in the country, began work in Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko called the creation of the council an attempt to seize power and threatened with harsh measures.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Former head of the European Council: Lukashenko wanted to create and lead the union of Ukraine and Belarus

'Forget about the great empire': Belarusians in the United States urged Putin to abandon support for Lukashenka

Belarusians congratulated Lukashenka on his birthday with protests, he responded with detentions

Putin accused Ukraine and the United States of sending Russians to Belarus

Putin creates special squads to help Lukashenka during protests in Belarus

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