“
Broom!
»: Tens of thousands of people gathered on Sunday in Minsk, Belarus, for a new protest march against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, despite police pressure.
Read also: In Belarus, immersion with women in white: "We are freedom"
Dressed in red and white, the colors of the opposition, the demonstrators marched down the Avenue des Vainqueurs and proceeded to the Independence Palace, the residence of Alexander Lukashenko, in the north-west of the capital, noted an AFP journalist.
Since Lukashenko's disputed re-election on August 9, demonstrations of historic magnitude have been held every weekend to demand the departure of the head of state, in power for 26 years.
New demonstration in Belarus.
TUT.BY / via REUTERS
This Sunday, the protesters marched again in a festive atmosphere, waving red and white flags.
“
Broom!
They chanted to the attention of Alexander Lukashenko.
"
It is by remaining united and by constantly exerting pressure that we will be able to get rid of Lukashenko,
" Valeri Kouptsevich, a 72-year-old retiree participating in the demonstration, told AFP.
Slogans were also aimed at Russian President Vladimir Putin, a major supporter of Lukashenko in this crisis which has shaken Belarus for a month and a half.
"
Putin, take your fork off the Belarusian potato!"
», Launched protesters, in reference to one of the emblematic agricultural productions of this former Soviet republic.
"
I started to hate Putin whereas before I saw him positively
", testifies Maxime Karpov, a demonstrator of 33 years, saying to have worked in Russia and to have "
many friends there
".
Arrest of a protester.
TUT.BY / via REUTERS
Read also: Belarus: Lukashenko's shattered dynastic dream
The demonstrators gathered despite the deployment in Minsk of armored vehicles, water cannons, and pressure from the police.
The latter made 30 arrests in Minsk and 33 others in the cities of Brest, Grodno and Kobrine, according to the NGO Viasna.
In Brest (southwest), tear gas was used and a police officer used a stun grenade to disperse the crowd, according to the Minister of the Interior.
The day before, the police brutally dispersed a women's demonstration: 415 people were arrested in Minsk, according to the ministry, and 15 in other cities.
Most of them were later released, according to this source.
Footage showed police officers bluntly carrying some of the demonstrators to prison vans.
See also
- Poland offers EUR 1 billion EU fund for Belarus
