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Lukashenko booed by workers

2020-08-17T09:25:01.154Z


Alexander Lukashenko wanted to get the workforce on his side in a large factory in Minsk. But the Belarusian autocrat was booed and ordered to leave.


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Demonstrators in front of the vehicle manufacturer's premises

Photo: SERGEI GAPON / AFP

Striking employees of a Minsk state-owned company booed the authoritarian Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko on Monday. They shouted "Disappear" in unison when he addressed the workers at the vehicle manufacturer MZKT with a speech. When the President said, "You have always supported the President," they answered "No". Lukashenko had arrived at the factory premises by helicopter.

Lukashenko rejected new elections despite the protests. There won't be any, he said. "Until you kill me there are no other options," he said. "You won't expect me to do something under pressure." He had already made a similar statement on Sunday and rejected allegations of fraud in the presidential election a week ago. There have been demonstrations across the country since the election.

Lukashenko claimed that as a whole the plant would work, as the press service of the presidential administration announced. He spoke of a few striking employees 150 to 200. In contrast, hundreds of workers can be seen on video images.

At the beginning of the week, workers in many state-owned companies in Belarus went on strike. In the ex-Soviet republic, factories are considered to be elementary for the functioning of the state. Experts believe that after 26 years in power, Lukashenko will be the quickest way to force Lukashenko to give up. A new mass rally was planned for the evening in the capital Minsk.

Hundreds of employees of the state broadcaster Belaruskaya Tele-Radio Kampanija, or BT for short, joined the strike. The station is the most important propaganda channel of the Lukashenko regime. The live stream initially showed an empty studio, now it no longer opens. The Internet was disrupted again in Belarus on Monday. Employees of the second channel ONT also protested. On Sunday they did not broadcast Lukashenko's speech, and reported the protests neutrally for the first time.

Steinmeier appeals to Lukashenko

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on Lukashenko to enter into a dialogue with the opposition, which had been protesting peacefully for days. In a message of greeting to a virtual conference on the topic of digitization, he called on Lukashenko to "not rely on violence, but on dialogue". The Federal President also addressed the Belarusian military: They should not "sin through violence against their own people".

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as / heb / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-08-17

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