Things have been troubled in Belarus for months because of the fraudulent presidential elections at the beginning of August. The opposition sees the displaced opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya as the winner of that ballot box. The European Union and the United States also do not recognize Lukashenko’s victory. Since the election, thousands of people have been arrested and several people have died.
The demonstrations on Sunday are invariably the most attended. During the week, local protests are organized by, among others, school students and pensioners. Protest marches for women are organized on Saturdays. Dozens of protesters were also arrested at yesterday’s women’s demonstration.
It Belarusian state news agency Belta do not report the Partisan march today. However, an interruption in the timetable is reported from the metro in Minsk, without naming a cause, and one pro-Lukashenko motorcycle tour.
Ultimatum expires next week
Tikhanovskaya has Lukashenko issued an ultimatum: he must be gone by next Sunday and all political prisoners released. If the president is expected to disregard the demands, the opposition leader will call for a national protest and strike at all state-owned companies.
This afternoon a solidarity campaign was organized in Amsterdam by the Belarusian diaspora in the Netherlands. The organizers wanted to make it clear to passers-by that just across the border of the European Union torture and deadly police brutality are taking place.
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