Protests erupted against Belarus presidential election results
One protestor died while 3,000 arrested by police since Sunday
The longtime
ruler of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s controversial election victory
for sixth term triggered the protests on the streets across Belarus. According
to official figures incumbent President Lukashenko won nearly 80 percent of the
vote.
Following
the announcement of this result, violent protests broke out in cities across
Belarus, with opposition activists complaining that the results had been
falsified. The opposition is alleging the government for rigging the
election results.
One protester
has died and nearly 3,000 have been arrested so far. The protestor was died in capital
Minsk from injuries caused by an explosive device he tried to throw at police,
Belarusian authorities has claimed.
The mass
demonstrations against the results of the presidential election continued. Police
in Belarus detained 3,000 people for taking part in unauthorised gatherings
during post-election demonstrations on Sunday, the interior ministry said,
accusing some protesters of sparking clashes with police.
The ministry
said in a statement that 1,000 of the detentions were in the capital Minsk and
the rest in other parts of the country.
One of the protesters tried to throw an
unidentified explosive device at law enforcement officers. It exploded in his
hand” and caused “injuries incompatible with life, a spokesman
for the ministry told reporters.
Sputnik
Belarus reported that protesters on Pritytsky Avenue used Molotov cocktails to
target police. Drone footage on Monday evening showed a large crowd of people
blocking the avenue near the Pushkinskaya Metro station, and there were reports
of police using flash-bang grenades to disperse them. At some point, a city bus
was set ablaze.
In addition
to flash-bangs and rubber bullets, police have used tear gas to disperse demonstrators
across Belarus since Sunday. Protesters have also used fireworks and, in some
instances, tried to run police over with cars.
Outside the
capital, which has seen fierce clashes between protesters and law enforcement,
there have also been confrontations in other cities across Belarus. Footage
from Brest, on the border with Poland, showed explosions and a standoff between
riot police and demonstrators.
Opposition
candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who earlier said she didn’t accept the
results of an election she said, was compromised by multiple instances of fraud.
She had taken refuge in neighboring Lithuania, a member of the European Union.
President Lukashenko,
65, often deemed “Europe’s last dictator,” has ruled Belarus since 1994 and
systematically suppressed political opposition and freedom of speech. Many
members of Tikhanovskaya’s staff were jailed in the days before the election.
The
Belarusian leader has always benefited from the support of Russian President
Vladimir Putin, although he took pains to insist during the recent campaign
that he would not hesitate to stand up to Moscow. But the country’s troubled
economy depends on Russia for much of its exports.
Moscow has
been silent since Sunday’s election, but could fear that the Belarusian unrest
evolves toward a similar situation to that of Ukraine in 2004 and in 2014, when
protests against a pro-Russian president led to a change of government. It is
unclear what the EU can do if Lukashenko suppresses the protests and remains in
power. And it is unclear what Russia would do if he is forced to leave office.
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