The first day of the general strike in Belarus, Monday, October 26, was marked by walkouts in factories and rallies of opponents in the streets of Minsk, in a context marked by repression.
"80% of the workers here support the opposition. But they are afraid. We do not have a union worthy of the name. The only union that we have supported the president," said Gulliver Cragg, France 24 special envoy. , a worker at the entrance to his factory.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been facing a huge protest movement since his re-election, which was deemed fraudulent on August 9.
He refused to respond to a "people's ultimatum" from exiled opponent Svetlana Tsikhanouskaïa, demanding his resignation before Sunday evening.
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