More than 500 people were arrested by police on Monday, October 26, in Belarus during protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, the Interior Ministry said, quoted Tuesday by the Russian news agency RIA.
Several thousand students and retirees marched on Monday in the streets of the capital, Minsk, responding to the call for a general strike launched by the opposition to try to bend President Alexander Lukashenko, whose re-election is contested .
The latter indeed refused to respond to a "people's ultimatum" sent by the exiled opponent Svetlana Tsikhanouskaïa, demanding her resignation before Sunday evening.
At the end of an eleventh day of demonstration, the Belarusian opponent then called on his compatriots to strike on Monday.
A crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 flying the opposition flag
If it continues, this strike could weaken the power in place after nearly three months of showdown with the opposition.
Several actions have already been carried out in public enterprises, without succeeding in being sustainable.
Belarusian media reported groups of strikers at many state-controlled companies, but according to the government spokeswoman all major state-owned companies were operating normally on Monday.
In the center of the capital of the former Soviet republic, many shops, cafes and restaurants have remained closed.
Hundreds of students marched through the streets.
A crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 people marched the main avenue of the city, flying the white and red flag of the opposition.
Several dozen people were arrested in other areas of the capital by hooded security agents, according to images released by the Tut.by news site.
Многотысячная колонна людей на Машерова с высоты птичьего полета.
Фото: Drone Pilots Group pic.twitter.com/UnvNLBhTk9
- TUT.BY (@tutby) October 25, 2020
More than 15,000 people have been arrested since the start of the protest movement.
All the opposition leaders are behind bars or have fled the country.
With Reuters
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