Belarus: opposition to Lukashenko pays tribute to deceased protester

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The protest against the re-election of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko continued on Saturday, August 15. Thousands of people took to the streets again.

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Thousands of demonstrators gathered again , Saturday August 15 in Minsk, in the wake of a growing mobilization against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko. During the afternoon, they converged near a metro station in the west of the capital to pay tribute to Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester who was killed nearby during a demonstration last Monday.

“  No to violence!  "Chanted the protesters, some making the" V "of victory with their hands and arms. Wreaths of flowers, decorated with white and red ribbons, the colors of the opposition, were placed near an improvised memorial. Protesters also came with photos showing the injuries of people tortured during their detention this week.

Earlier today, another meeting gathered more than 700 people in silence around the coffin of the deceased protester, in another part of Minsk. Lukashenko's main rival in the presidential election, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, a refugee in Lithuania, had called for peaceful rallies on Saturday and Sunday across the country.

A "  color revolution  "

For his part, this Saturday, President Lukashenko said he was facing a "  color revolution  ", the name given to several uprisings in the former USSR over the past 20 years, with "  elements of external interference  ". In a diplomatic stalemate with the European Union, the United States and his neighbors, President Lukashenko turned to Vladimir Putin , with whom he spoke.

For several days, the mobilization has spread to Belarus. Human chains and rallies against violence and fraud have flourished in the country, while iconic factory workers have launched solidarity actions and walkouts.

Unlike the demonstrations at the start of the week, which were violently suppressed, these actions went smoothly and were arrested, the Belarusian authorities having given signs of retreating. The latter thus announced the release of more than 2,000 of the 6,700 people arrested.

(With AFP )

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• Belarus
• Alexander Lukashenko

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