Belarus: during protests against Lukashenko - flowers and hugs for soldiers

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Demonstrator in Minsk hugs a soldier in a peaceful protest

Despite the release of many prisoners in Belarus, tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the capital Minsk. On Independence Square, they peacefully protested against police violence, arbitrariness by the authorities and the alleged falsification of the presidential election under President Alexander Lukashenko.

Videos on tut.by and on Telegram channels showed how women cheered and approached security guards who had taken a stand on the square. They hugged the soldiers and handed them flowers, while other women laid flowers on the ground in front of them. On posters were slogans like "we are not 20 people, we are 16,000". The rally ended in the evening.

When people demonstrated on Independence Square against election fraud in the presidential election in 2010, Lukashenko had the protest brutally suppressed. Ten years later, many demonstrators sat down on the ground, saying "Long live Belarus" and "We believe we can, we will win" by turning on the flashlights of their cell phones. Later when they left the square, they shouted "Every day", people now want to come back every day.

Later, thousands of demonstrators stayed in the center, in front of the headquarters of the KGB secret service they set up candles and laid flowers. According to observers, the police initially held back in the evening - as they did during the day and on Thursday. However, the Internet was again disrupted. The authorities want to use this tactic to keep protests small. Videos of the actions are spread on the Internet.

Protesters demand Lukashenko's resignation

The demonstrations began after the presidential election on Sunday, which was overshadowed by massive fraud allegations. Since then, many people have called for the resignation of Lukashenko, who has been in power for 25 years.

Before the decision of the EU foreign ministers to impose sanctions on supporters of Lukashenko, the power apparatus had released more than 2,000 people from prisons. They had been arrested during protests in the past few days. Almost 7,000 came into police custody. "We are doing everything possible to resolve the situation," said the Interior Ministry.

There were rallies across the country. Protesters formed human chains in many cities. In Rechitsa in the south of the country, videos could be seen of a soldier handing flowers to women demonstrating. In many state-owned companies, employees stopped working. Larger protests are planned for this Saturday

hba / heb / dpa