"Riots did not happen spontaneously": in Belarus, they announced the coordinated actions of the protesters

On the night of August 13, protesters continued to protest in Belarus. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, about 700 people were detained last night for participating in unauthorized actions.

The department said that "the riots in the country have lost their mass character", but the level of aggression towards the police remains high. It is reported that 103 security officials were injured during the protests, of which 28 were hospitalized.

At the same time, the Investigative Committee of Belarus stated that specially trained persons could coordinate the riots in the country.

In the course of studying the recordings of CCTV cameras, the investigators concluded that "the coordinators professionally organized the crowd and called on citizens to take action," the department added.

“In addition, there were provocateurs in the crowd who incited the participants to violence against the employees of the internal affairs bodies, thus provoking the adoption of forceful measures, and during such actions they themselves withdrew from the places of clashes between citizens and the riot police,” the UK said.

Let us remind you that the protest actions in Belarus began in the evening on August 9 after the preliminary results of the presidential elections in the republic became known. According to the CEC, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko won over 80% of the vote, opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya - over 10%. Citizens, dissatisfied with the organization and the results of the vote, went to the rally, which escalated into riots and clashes with the police. During the clashes, the security forces use rubber bullets, stun grenades, tear gas, batons and water cannons. The protesters use paving stones, flares, Molotov cocktails and other improvised means.

So, last night in Minsk, two people were detained, making "Molotov cocktails". According to the press secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic Olga Chemodanova, a ten-liter canister of gasoline and a bottle of vegetable oil were found in the detainees' hands.

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Against the backdrop of protests, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, Yuri Karaev, said that he instructed the security forces "not to touch the journalists," except when reporters stand "between violators and the forces of law and order." 

“Taking this opportunity, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs once again appeals to journalists not to risk themselves at illegal street actions where violent clashes are taking place,” Olga Chemodanova noted.

She added that Karayev took personal control of the situation with journalists covering the protests.

It should be reminded that during the protests in the republic, numerous cases of detention of journalists, including Russian ones, and the use of force against them were recorded. Most of the reporters were later released.

So, on August 13, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan reported that the Belarusian authorities released two stringers of the Ruptly video agency, Sergei Kamenetsky and Alexander Kovalev, who did not get in touch for four days.

Another girl, who also collaborates with RT, spent two days in the cell and spoke about the conditions in which the detainees are being held.

“According to the protocol, the place of detention differs from the actual one. There are 37 in the female cell for six people, and 50 in the male cell. They sleep in turn. No food, tap water. Everyone is given from 7 to 15 days. Some of the men were beaten, ”she said.

Against this background, several journalists who worked for Belarusian state television channels announced their dismissal. So, Yevgeny Perlin in his Instagram published a post entitled “What happened to my Belarus?”, In which he announced his departure from the TV channel “Belarus-1” and noted that no one influenced his decision. The host of the military program "Arsenal" Vladimir Burko also announced his dismissal from the channel.

“I'll start with the main thing: I am no longer the host of this television project, I left myself, not without incident, but left,” the journalist wrote.

Presenter Sergei Kozlovich also announced his dismissal from the TV News Agency: “Working in the frame will always be a thrill for me. But yesterday I sat in the ATN studio for the last time. The decision is independent. "

In addition, the day before, the head of the Czech Foreign Ministry, Tomas Petrshichek, said that the department had summoned the Ambassador of Belarus to provide explanations regarding the statement of Alexander Lukashenko about Prague's alleged involvement in the events in Belarus.

“The ambassador was told that we in no way agree with what is happening now in Belarus - suppression of rallies, cruel treatment of demonstrators who want to express their opinion about the situation in their own country. That we do not agree with the way the entire election campaign was going on, during which opposition representatives were arrested, and OSCE observers were not allowed to control the voting, ”RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

On August 10, Lukashenko, during a meeting with CIS executive secretary Sergei Lebedev, called the elections held in the country a “holiday” and said that there were people abroad who wanted to spoil it: “Someone wanted to spoil this holiday. We have recorded calls from abroad. There were calls from Poland, Great Britain and the Czech Republic, they controlled our, excuse me, sheep: they don't understand what they are doing, and they are already beginning to be controlled.

Lukashenka also called the information that appeared in the local media as fakes that in some localities the riot policemen refused to resist the demonstrators and folded their shields.

At the same time, on the eve of several people who claim to have served in the power structures of Belarus, posted videos on their accounts on social networks in which they throw out their uniforms in solidarity with the protesters.

So, Yevgeny Novitsky posted on Instagram a record in which his brother throws a uniform with a special forces stripe into the trash can, stating that he cannot be proud of where he served. Another user, Artyom Belinovich, posted a video in which he throws a pick into a garbage container with the words that “there is no more special forces fraternity in Belarus”. According to media reports, several more similar videos appeared on Belarusian Telegram channels. It is noted that the authors of several videos burn their uniforms in front of the camera.