Protests in Belarus: "An almost cheerful, relaxed atmosphere"

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They honk to commemorate the deceased demonstrators. Also on Saturday, thousands of Belarusians are on the streets of Minsk to demonstrate against police violence, arbitrariness by the authorities and the alleged election fraud.

Christian Esch, Der Spiegel

"A lot of people have gathered here to say goodbye. Most of the cars that drive by here are honking their horns as a sign of solidarity. The whole city of Minsk, it seems, is taking part in the current protests. It is surprisingly a downright cheerful, relaxed atmosphere in the city. You can hardly see the special police who have demonstrated brutality, which have shown themselves to be extremely brutal. "

Belarus has been a country in turmoil since Sunday night. After the presidential election, which was overshadowed by fraud allegations, many people in national protests called for Lukashenko's resignation. The security forces cracked down on the demonstrators with the utmost severity.  

More than 6,500 people were arrested on the verge of protest without cause. The first 2,000 demonstrators were released on Friday. Many of them reported ill-treatment and humiliation while in police custody.

The EU then decided to launch new sanctions against supporters of the head of state Alexander Lukashenko. After days of unrest, both protesters and the country's leadership apparently tried to de-escalate on Friday.

Christian Esch, Der Spiegel

"Yesterday I was standing on Independence Square in the capital in front of the Parliament. There the demonstrators went to great lengths to show the security forces that we are not against you. They shouted: 'We love you.' Presented flowers, some even hugged the officers present. "

An end to the demonstrations in Belarus is not yet in sight.

 Christian Esch, Der Spiegel

"The workforce of several large companies have already announced that they want to go on strike from Monday. And should that happen, the autocrat would face a completely new challenge."