Faced with the biggest wave of protest since coming to power in 1994, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called on Sunday, August 16, to defend the country's independence in front of a crowd of supporters in Minsk.

"Dear friends, I called you here not so that you defend me but because, for the first time in a quarter of a century, you can defend the independence of your country", he launched under the ovations , from Independence Square where at least a thousand people are gathered, according to an AFP journalist on the spot.

"We will go into a spin"

The 65-year-old Belarusian president has reacted to the opposition's desire to hold a new presidential election, after the August 9 election which gave him the winner but raised accusations of massive fraud.

"If we do that, we'll go into a spin and we'll never come back," he predicted, facing the crowd waving the red and green flag inherited from the Soviet period.

"The elections have taken place, a falsified score cannot be more than 80%", he said, referring to the official results which credited him with more than 80% of the vote.

This score, thousands of demonstrators dispute it for a week. Opponents of Belarusian power march again on Sunday in several cities of the country, including the capital, Minsk, where they are tens of thousands to have gathered.

With AFP

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