Protests in Belarus are entering their second round and may flare up with renewed vigor
Just like on the night after the elections, a relatively small number of people took to the streets of Minsk today to protest against the sudden inauguration of Alexander Lukashenko. And in the same way, special means were used against them, and harsh arrests were made.
Security forces initially blocked the central Independence Square, but then, apparently having learned of the protesters' plans, they lifted the cordon, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Maidan workers again gathered at the “Minsk Hero City” stela, from where a direct path to the president’s residence opens. But this path was securely blocked, and several hundred people simply stood at the monument.
At that moment, riot police went on the offensive, pushing people back. Detentions began. Two women were injured in the crush. It is unclear what happened to them, but in the video the security forces themselves are helping the wounded.
Then water cannons were used. They doused people with colored water - they marked them.
After this, the protests moved to the districts. Maidan workers tried to block the streets. They were detained again. Several cases of tear gas use were recorded.
It is noteworthy that in parallel with the protests, a march in support of Lukashenko took place in Minsk. One of the videos shows columns of antagonists passing each other, shouting alternative slogans, but no collision occurs.
Opposition media are promoting photos and videos of the wounded, which means that it is quite likely that the “Akrestin effect” may repeat itself, when Belarusians, seeing the harshness of the police towards prisoners in pre-trial detention centers, took to the streets en masse.
If on the night after the elections the protesters behaved aggressively, today they are more likely to behave cockily, taunting the security forces. There are no militants observed, although during the day the Polish network of telegram channels distributed video instructions on forceful confrontation. Only one video shows young people throwing stones at police shields.
What effect the forceful dispersal of small protests will have will become clear on Sunday, when the Belarusians have Maidan on schedule.
Protests in Belarus are entering a second round and could flare up with renewed vigor.