Secure messaging app pivotal to organisation of protests and spreading of news about repressions
In a small Minsk apartment one evening last week, a group of people gathered to discuss plans for a Halloween party with a twist. There would be costumes, drinks and games, but the main event was a ceremonial funeral. The plan: to bury Alexander Lukashenko’s dictatorship.
“Maybe we should bury a pumpkin with a moustache,” suggested one young woman.
Continue reading...Video shows riot police in Minsk bursting into an apartment in the city searching for protesters who had been seeking refuge after officers used stun grenades at a rally against the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, who continues to hold on to power despite two months of mass protests since he declared victory in the presidential election in August.
The footage, filmed on Sunday and later posted to social media, shows a policeman using a baton to beat a man who was draped with the pre-Soviet red-and-white flag, the symbol adopted by the opposition. Police detained at least three other men, while several others were sheltering on the upper floors of the building, a witness said.
Officials in Belarus detained more than 500 people at nationwide anti-government protests on Sunday, including 160 in Minsk, the interior ministry said on Monday
Continue reading...Strike was called after ultimatum to president to step down by Sunday was ignored
Workers and students across Belarus have launched strikes in a further show of defiance at the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, who continues to hold on to power despite two months of mass protests since he declared victory in the presidential election in August.
The strike was called by Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the united opposition candidate who took on Lukashenko in August after her husband and other would-be candidates were either jailed or forced to flee. She left for Lithuania the night after the vote after receiving threats and called the strike after an ultimatum for Lukashenko to step down by Sunday night unsurprisingly fell on deaf ears.
Continue reading...Belarusian police have used stun grenades against protesters as tens of thousands of people headed towards Independence Palace in the capital, Minsk, demanding that President Alexander Lukashenko resign. They were marching to give what they called a 'people’s ultimatum' to Lukashenko: step down, or face a nationwide strike that could cripple the economy. Protesters were met with a violent crackdown from riot police as explosions and white smoke filled residential areas. It is the 11th straight weekend of mass protests since a disputed election plunged the country into turmoil
Opposition leader calls for action on Monday as Lukashenko defies demand from 100,000 marchers in Minsk to step down
Belarusian riot police launched another violent crackdown in Minsk on Sunday evening, throwing stun grenades into crowds of peaceful protesters, chasing people through courtyards and making arrests as they attempted to curtail the 11th consecutive Sunday of protest in the country.
At least 100,000 people marched through the centre of the Belarusian capital earlier in the day to give what they called a “people’s ultimatum” to Alexander Lukashenko: step down, or face a nationwide strike on Monday that could cripple the economy.
Continue reading...Move follows Belarusian government’s decision to expel 35 diplomats from neighbouring Poland and Lithuania
The UK has temporarily recalled its ambassador to Belarus, Jacqueline Perkins, in response to the Belarusian government’s decision to expel 35 diplomats from neighbouring Poland and Lithuania.
Minsk asked the two countries to scale back the number of diplomatic staff they had in Belarus on Friday amid ongoing political unrest following the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Continue reading...Mass protests erupted across Belarus following the widely disputed election that put President Alexander Lukashenko in office for a sixth term. Three Belarusian filmmakers have documented personal stories of those caught up in the political turmoil.
Maksim Shved was arrested, imprisoned and then released as the protests around him swelled. Ekaterina Markavets observes the psychological burden of her fellow citizens – she worked with professional psychologists who set up a volunteer support service for people affected by current events. Andrei Kutsila follows a celebrated Belarusian broadcast journalist who worked for state TV for nearly 40 years and who is now in hospital recovering from injuries sustained at a protest. All three filmmakers wonder what the future holds for their country and fellow citizens
Continue reading...Svetlana Tikhanovskaya says in interview that people can no longer live under dictatorship, as more 100,000 protest on Sunday
The Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya will meet Angela Merkel in Berlin on Tuesday, as the standoff in Belarus increasingly takes on a geopolitical dimension, becoming one more bone of contention between Russia and the west.
Tikhanovskaya said she will ask the German chancellor about “her potential participation as a mediator” in talks between protest leaders and the government of the embattled autocrat Alexander Lukashenko, who has been backed by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and has flatly refused to participate in negotiations.
Continue reading...Late-night talks end standoff with Cyprus, which had wanted bloc to get tough with Turkey
European Union sanctions against 40 Belarusian officials accused of vote rigging and political repression have come into force, after the bloc’s leaders resolved a dispute with Cyprus that caused an embarrassing delay to action.
In a standoff that tarnished the EU’s credibility, Cyprus had insisted that its EU partners take a tough stance against Turkey for its energy exploration in disputed eastern Mediterranean waters off its coast, before it would agree to the Belarus sanctions.
Continue reading...Announcement comes as EU leaders try to resolve dispute over Belarus sanctions
Angela Merkel has announced plans to meet the Belarusian opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, as EU leaders gathering at a Brussels summit seek to untangle a dispute that has delayed sanctions against Belarus’s authoritarian government.
In a speech in the Bundestag on Wednesday, the German chancellor expressed her admiration for the women protesting against the Belarusian regime “If you see the courage of the women on display in the streets there, for a life of freedom and free of corruption, then I can only say: I admire that,” she said.
Continue reading...Country’s foreign minister attacks western ‘interference’, as Emmanuel Macron says president Lukashenko must go
Belarus’s foreign minister, Vladimir Makei, has accused western countries of attempting to sow “chaos and anarchy” in the former Soviet republic, which has been rocked by street protests since a contested election last month that was claimed by President Alexander Lukashenko.
“We are seeing attempts to destabilise the situation in the country,” Makei told the UN general assembly in a video statement on Saturday. “Interference in our internal affairs, sanctions and other restrictions on Belarus will have the opposite effect, and are harmful for absolutely everyone.”
Continue reading...Clip showing movie-like pursuit and escape in Minsk spreads across social media
An unnamed Belarusian taxi driver who helped a man escape from riot police during protests against veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko has transfixed social media users who have shared footage of the dramatic incident.
The 16-second video clip, filmed by a Euroradio.fm reporter, features a movie-like pursuit and escape that unfolded in a Minsk residential area on Wednesday evening as crowds protested against what they said was the illegitimate inauguration of Lukashenko.
Continue reading...Open Technology Fund, which helped activists evade state surveillance and sidestep web censorship, sees $20m grant pulled
The Trump administration has stopped vital technical assistance to pro-democracy groups in Belarus, Hong Kong and Iran, which had helped activists evade state surveillance and sidestep internet censorship.
Related: Trump memo on Comey firing was 'tinfoil helmet material', Mueller prosecutor says
Continue reading...Water cannon and stun grenades used by riot squad after opposition denounce president’s secret ceremony as illegitimate
Riot police clashed with protesters in Minsk on Wednesday evening, using water cannon and stun grenades, hours after the inauguration of Alexander Lukashenko for another term as president.
Several thousand protesters, many carrying the red-and white opposition flag, took to the streets of the capital Minsk and other cities following a surprise announcement that Lukashenko had been sworn in for a sixth term in office following disputed elections in August.
Continue reading...Large protests against the veteran Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, continued with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets of the capital, Minsk, for the sixth weekend in a row.
The demonstrations began when Lukashenko secured a sixth term after claiming victory in an election that has had its legitimacy called into question.
The leader of the main opposition party, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was in Brussels on Monday to push the European Union to agree on sanctions against officials accused of election-rigging in Belarus but the EU failed to reach unanimity on the decision despite not recognising Lukashenko's legitimacy.
As violent arrests of protesters continue in Belarus, anonymous hackers leaked the personal data of 1,000 police officers in retaliation.
Protesters dragged into police vans at rally to demand removal of Alexander Lukashenko
Riot police detained hundreds of women as opposition protesters marched through the Belarusian capital, Minsk, demanding an end to President Alexander Lukashenko’s rule.
About 2,000 women took part in the “Sparkly March”, wearing shiny accessories and carrying the red-and-white flags of the protest movement.
Continue reading...UN investigator warns of ‘catastrophic’ stiuation with more than 10,000 protesters ‘abusively arrested’
A United Nations investigator has warned of the danger of “another iron curtain” falling across Europe during an ill-tempered debate in Geneva on alleged human rights violations in Belarus.
“Let’s not allow another iron curtain to descend on the European continent,” Anaïs Marin, the UN’s special rapporteur on Belarus, said, in an urgent session of the body’s 47-member human rights council that also heard from the Belarus opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
Continue reading...Protesters, mainly women, tore balaclavas off police and security officers during demonstrations in Belarus in which dozens of people were arrested.
With riot police given carte blanche by president Alexander Lukashenko to harass and assault peaceful protesters, in recent days demonstrators have responded by grabbing their masks and balaclavas, forcing officers to hide their faces and retreat for fear of being identified.
Thousands gathered in the capital, Minsk, on Saturday 12 September as waves of protests continued following Alexander Lukashenko's claim of victory in an election on 9 August people say was rigged
Continue reading...Pulling off balaclavas and publishing names is new tactic to stem harassment and assaults
During the past month’s uprising against Alexander Lukashenko, riot police and assorted thugs loyal to his regime have been given carte blanche by the Belarusian president to harass, assault and arrest peaceful protesters.
In recent days, however, protesters have found out that for all Lukashenko’s men’s ruthlessness and impunity, they have a vulnerable point: their faces. Grab at the mask of a policeman and he will run for cover.
Continue reading...Maria Kolesnikova could face up to five years in prison as president cracks down on opposition
Belarusian authorities have charged the opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova with “actions aimed at undermining national security”, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The charge, announced by the country’s investigative committee, is the latest move in a crackdown on opposition leaders by the embattled president, Alexander Lukashenko, who has lost legitimacy among much of the population but retains the support of law enforcement agencies.
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