Two demonstrations at the antipodes. A "Freedom March" is underway this Sunday in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, the day after another demonstration on Saturday by the opposition. Mobilizations that take place a week after a contested presidential election that led to a huge protest movement against the repression and President Alexander Lukashenko, in power for twenty-six years.
An opposition march on Saturday
This Sunday, Lukashenko called on his supporters to defend the independence of Belarus during a pro-power march.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people gathered across the country again to oppose the re-election of Alexander Lukashenko, officially credited with 80% of the vote in last Sunday's poll.
This victory was seen as largely rigged, while a historic mobilization in favor of an unexpected rival, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, 37, ignited Belarus before the vote. The latter is now in exile in Lithuania.
Peaceful tributes
In Minsk, nearly 3,000 people gathered outside the headquarters of state television on Saturday to demand "the truth", while dozens of state media workers rallied protesters and announced a strike from Monday. Other members of the elite, including two high-ranking diplomats, and researchers have indicated support for the protesters.
Tributes were also held on Saturday on the sidelines of the funeral of a 34-year-old protester, Alexander Taraikovsky, killed during a demonstration.
The mobilization spreads
Opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaïa, who calls for the organization of fair elections and the release of political prisoners, has announced the creation of a committee to organize the transfer of power. The first four evenings of demonstrations were put down by riot police, leaving at least two dead and dozens injured. Released protesters told AFP of the atrocious conditions of detention. Deprived of water, beaten or burnt with cigarettes, they were imprisoned by the dozen in cells intended for four or six.
But since Thursday, in reaction to the violence, the mobilization has spread: human chains and anti-power rallies have sprung up all over the country, while iconic factory workers have launched actions of solidarity.
These demonstrations took place without arrest, the Belarusian authorities having given signs of retreat and announced the release of more than 2,000 of the 6,700 people arrested. President Lukashenko himself called for a "certain restraint" against the protesters, whom he had nevertheless qualified as "sheep".
Fears of Russian "help"
The Belarusian leader 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 outside interference." The Belarusian head of state, 65, raised the specter of a Russian intervention on Saturday, saying that his counterpart Vladimir Putin had assured him, during a telephone interview, of "help" to preserve the security of Belarus , a former Soviet republic. If the Kremlin said it was "confident" that the crisis in the country would be resolved soon, it did not however mention such support.
The European Union for its part ordered sanctions against Belarusian officials linked to electoral fraud and repression. Alexander Lukashenko, who has never let any opposition take root, on Saturday rejected "any foreign mediation", referring to a mediation plan proposed by Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. "We will not give the country to anyone," he promised.
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