Belarus: tens of thousands of demonstrators in Minsk, 250 arrests

Belarusians once again demonstrated against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, Sunday, September 13, 2020. TUT.BY / AFP

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The movement demanding the departure of President Alexander Lukashenko is not weakening in Biléorussia.

This Sunday, tens of thousands of Belarusians once again pounded the pavement.

Nearly 250 people were arrested.

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Like every Sunday since the re-election of Alexander Lukashenko on August 9, tens of thousands of Belarusians have responded to the opposition's appeal.

For

, the mobilization was still monster in the streets of Minsk to demand the departure of the president despite the repression of the authorities and the police, who

on September 13.

For this weekly meeting, entitled "the March of the heroes", in tribute to all the victims of the demonstrations, a massive deployment of security forces, equipped with armored vehicles and water cannons, in particular in front of the presidency, one of the meeting places, was set up by the authorities.

But that did not prevent a column of several kilometers of demonstrators from forming

.

The first arrests took place as soon as the rally began.

Those arrested were arrested for " 

 " of the opposition, Belarusian police said.

Last weekend,

were arrested on the sidelines of such a rally in Minsk and other cities.

Several dozen women participating in a women's march were also brutally arrested on Saturday, September 12.

In total, thousands of people have been arrested since the beginning of the movement and accusations of torture of prisoners have increased.

The main opponent hails a "

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya,

presidential candidate who claims victory against Alexander Lukashenko, and who is now in exile in Lithuania, hailed in a video " 

 " who continue their " 

 ".

Despite the scale of the protest, Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, ruled out any significant compromise, citing only a vague reform of the Constitution to come.

He accuses the West of supporting the protest, turning to Moscow after months of bilateral tensions, to keep his grip on Belarus.

A meeting between the Belarusian President and Vladimir Putin is also due to take place on Monday, September 14.

(With

AFP)

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