"Warning shots were fired into the air": how was the next opposition march in Belarus

During an unauthorized protest in the capital of Belarus, security forces fired warning shots into the air, the republic's Interior Ministry said.

“Warning shots were fired into the air to suppress violations of the law,” Natalya Ganusevich, an official representative of the police department of the Minsk city executive committee, told RIA Novosti.

At the same time, she stated that she did not have information that, as the media reported, on Independence Avenue, security forces fired rubber bullets at the feet of the protesters during the dispersal of the march.

The opposition in Minsk held an action called "Dzyady", timed to coincide with the Day of Remembrance of Ancestors celebrated in Belarus on November 2.

On this day, a march is held annually, but this time the event was not sanctioned by the authorities and took place as part of Sunday protest rallies.

The police in Minsk detained several people for participating in the action.

“There are people detained for participating in unauthorized mass events.

Once again, we remind you that these actions are unauthorized, the police ask you not to follow various calls on Telegram channels and not to participate in these events, ”Sputnik quotes representatives of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate of the Belarusian capital.

Earlier in Minsk, a column of demonstrators began a march from the Park Chelyuskintsev metro station in the direction of the Moskovskaya metro station.

Also on November 1, it was reported that special equipment, buses with security forces and military trucks for the transport of personnel were pulled into various parts of Minsk.

Along with this, it was reported about the closure of three stations of the Minsk metro and a decrease in the speed of mobile Internet at the request of the Belarusian authorities.

To date, the stations "Academy of Sciences", "Moskovskaya" and "Park Chelyuskintsev" are operating normally, telecom operators have reported returning to normal operation.

Recall that mass protests against the legitimate leadership of the country began in Belarus after the presidential elections held on August 9.

According to the official data of the Central Election Commission of the republic, the current head of state, Alexander Lukashenko, was elected president, who won 80.1% of the vote.

His main rival was Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the wife of blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, who happened to be in jail shortly before the elections.

According to official data, 10.1% of Belarusians voted for her in the elections.

After the publication of the preliminary election results, the opposition refused to recognize their results, accusing the authorities of falsifying the election results.

Protests began in the country, the participants of which demanded re-elections.

The opposition's point of view was supported abroad.

In particular, the European Union refused to recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate head of Belarus.

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, in turn, left the republic and went to the EU.

At the end of October, she announced that the European Union is ready to provide Belarus with support for "billions of dollars" in the event of Lukashenko's resignation.

According to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, Yuri Karaev, a second wave of protests is being observed in the country.

At the same time, on October 30, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that the internal affairs bodies are in control of the situation in the country.

“The internal affairs bodies confidently control the situation, are able to forestall its aggravation, protect society, every citizen from any encroachments,” BelTA quotes him as saying.

The head of Belarus said that he would mobilize all the possibilities for this, including the internal affairs bodies and the army, to fight against the forces shaking the country.

“Any war will start from within.

It was prepared in this way.

Therefore, everyone should understand that we are mobilizing everything that we have in order to protect our country, our land and our families, our children.

I want you to understand this, ”Lukashenka said.

We add that on October 28, Belarusian border guards reported the detention of a group of four anarchists with firearms near the border with Ukraine.

Subsequently, the head of the investigation department of the KGB of Belarus, Konstantin Bychek, said that the department was looking for other groups that had undergone sabotage training.

“The State Security Committee has information about other similar criminal groups and is conducting operational-search measures aimed at suppressing their illegal activities,” RIA Novosti quotes a representative of the Belarusian KGB.