Belarus: the street does not take off after the disputed presidential election

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

A second protester died on Wednesday in Belarus. He was arrested during a rally against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko. Since Sunday evening, security forces have arrested some 6,000 people across the country, without it being known how many are still detained. On Wednesday evening, in the center of Minsk, the capital, metro stations were closed and traffic completely banned.

Publicity

Thousands of people formed human chains and marched through the streets of cities on Wednesday in Belarus to protest against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko and the crackdown on the security forces . Numerous police officers were deployed in several main streets of Minsk. The demonstrations continue even if they are a little less followed.

“  I don't think there have ever been demonstrations of this magnitude in the history of the country. For most people, this is really the first experience of protesting and besides, it is also the first time that they will vote in an election. Most people are a little serious for the moment, because the demonstrations are very dispersed in the city  ”, notes Sergei Dmitriev, journalist for the Russian editorial staff of RFI, currently on the spot.

Unprecedented violence

“  In Minsk and other cities, we saw demonstrations of solidarity by women, young girls in white with placards. They formed chains to demand the release of their husband , their father, their son who were beaten up by the police during the night demonstrations. The scale of the violence is unprecedented,  ”adds Sergei Dmitriev.

About 7,000 people have been arrested, hundreds of people are injured, there are at least 2 dead, "  figures underestimated  ", notes Sergei Dmitriev. “  Even fairly peaceful protests end in violence. You just need to wear a white ribbon, a symbol of the opposition, to be arrested or beaten up by the police,  ”he observed.

European foreign ministers will meet this Friday to discuss possible sanctions against the former Soviet republic, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde announced on Wednesday. The European Union lifted some sanctions against Minsk in 2016.

►Also listen: Belarus: President Lukashenko, re-elected for the sixth time, is more and more contested

Call for a general strike

Several calls for a general strike were launched. “  The regime is very well prepared for this kind of situation and people on the contrary are not very well prepared. They do not yet know how to react to this violence. In the street, I saw a lot of posters calling for a general strike. So far, it is quite difficult to say whether this will be continued,  ”continues Sergei Dmitriev.

“  So far, I have heard that there are about ten workers who have gone on strike. There is a rumor that public transport drivers will join the strike as well. There is also an appeal from the doctors' union that was released today. But for now, we do not yet know if there are many people who will follow,  ”he concludes.

Alexander Lukashenko, he accuses the demonstrators of conspiring to overthrow the government with the support of Russia or other foreign governments.

(With agencies)

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• Belarus
• Alexander Lukashenko

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