On Sunday, August 16, a protest rally was held in Minsk. According to a RIA Novosti correspondent, the demonstrators gathered at the "Minsk - Hero City" stele, and also occupied the adjacent squares and adjacent sections of Pobediteley and Masherov Avenues. Later, the protesters went from the stele to the city center and approached the Independence Square.
Thousands of protesters in Minsk head to Independence Square along Pobediteley Avenue. The protesters stretched out a white and red cloth.
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At the same time, according to TASS, the participants did not block traffic on the avenues, although some occupied the dividing strip. The agency reported that by 19:00, the demonstrators gradually began to disperse, the event was calm.
Later, the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, Olga Chemodanova, said that during the action, law enforcement agencies did not make a single arrest.
“At the moment, there is no information about the arrests in Minsk. The action took place without incident. The order was ensured, "- Chemodanova quotes Sputnik Belarus.
Protest actions were also held in a number of other cities of the republic. In Brest, local residents, during a meeting with the mayor Alexander Rogachuk, demanded the resignation of the city authorities and heads of law enforcement agencies, as well as the release of those detained at the rallies. In addition, people took to the streets in Grodno.
Protest action in Belarusian Grodno.
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Olga Chemodanova said earlier that the department has not yet provided estimates of the number of participants in the action in Minsk.
“People are arriving, they are coming from different streets, and now it is very difficult to estimate their number. In any case, it is predictable, inaccurate, ”said the press secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus.
At the same time, according to local media reports, about 220 thousand people gathered near the stele.
Olga Chemodanova added that she did not know the timing of the release of all those detained during unauthorized mass actions from temporary detention centers.
“In the last days people were released. But there are those who are serving an administrative arrest by a court decision, ”she quoted TASS as saying.
Meanwhile, the country's Interior Minister Yuri Karaev said that the protests in the country are financed from abroad. According to him, young people participating in the demonstrations allegedly receive 30 Belarusian rubles (about 900 Russian rubles), girls - 60 (about 1.8 thousand Russian rubles). The minister said that young people "are used in the dark, they control their consciousness and subconsciousness."
In addition, he stated that the police did not use lethal weapons during the suppression of protests, and promised to deal with all cases of violence and abuse of authority by the security forces.
“There was an escalation on both sides. When they knock down their guys, the composure begins to change. This is very bad, I am against it. It doesn't have to be that way. We will deal with all cases. Not now, but when everything calms down, ”said the head of the department.
Karayev also commented on the death of a demonstrator Alexander Taraikovsky in Minsk and admitted that they could shoot at him from non-lethal weapons.
In turn, Maria Kolesnikova, a supporter of the former candidate for the presidency of Belarus Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, said that the Belarusian opposition intends to file an application to the court to initiate a criminal case against law enforcement agencies on the facts of cruelty during the dispersal of protests.
“Tomorrow we will submit an application to initiate a criminal case on the fact of the death of people, on all the facts of humiliation of people, on all the facts of illegal actions of law enforcement agencies. Everyone who used violence must be held accountable in accordance with the law of Belarus, ”she said.
Meanwhile, about 300 people also gathered at the building of the Belarusian embassy in Moscow. Those wishing to express support to the citizens of the republic came with flowers and white-red-white flags.
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Earlier, on Sunday, a rally of supporters of the incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko was held in Minsk. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, at least 65 thousand people attended the event. The head of state who arrived at the rally, speaking to the citizens, ruled out the possibility of repeated elections, saying that in this case Belarus "will perish as a state." He also said that NATO troops "clang their tracks" on the western borders of Belarus, promised that he would not allow the country to be surrendered, "even if he was dead," and added that the people who came to the rally in his support deserve him to stand in front of them. on knees.
Protest actions in Belarus began on August 9 after the completion of voting in the presidential elections and the announcement of their preliminary results. For a week now, demonstrators have taken to the streets of the country, dissatisfied with the victory of Alexander Lukashenko. In the early days, the actions were suppressed by the security forces who used tear gas, water cannons, stun grenades and rubber bullets. The demonstrators, in turn, threw fires, stones and Molotov cocktails at the security forces. Subsequently, the protests proceeded calmly, no information about the clashes appeared.