A wave of protests against President Aleksandr Lukashenko lasted 50 days. Belarusian police detained dozens of protesters during a march in Minsk on Sunday, and security forces in the city of Homel used tear gas on demonstrators. Lukashenko claims to have won the country’s presidential election more than a month ago.
The protests in Minsk, Homer and other cities come after Lukashenka was inaugurated as president in a secret ceremony on Sept. 23. Lukashenko’s secret inauguration prompted statements from EU member states and the United States that they do not recognize his legitimacy.
According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Belarusian, the spokesman for the main Interior Ministry of the Homer Regional Executive Committee said that the use of a “technical device” caused a huge explosion and a flash of light. Tear gas was used by the security forces “because some people acted inappropriately.
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Minsk, waving red and white opposition flags. It was the latest demonstration since Lukashenko declared victory in the August 9 presidential election.
Protesters are planning a “people’s inauguration” in support of exiled opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanuskaya, who is in Lithuania.
Tskhanuskaya, who entered the presidential race at the last minute after her husband’s imprisonment, said she won the Aug. 9 election with 60 to 70 percent of the vote.
She called on Belarusians to demonstrate on Sept. 27 for “the goal of new, honest elections and, consequently, an official, legal inauguration.”
On September 27, in Minsk, dozens of protesters were surrounded by riot police and forced into police vehicles.
Marches and rallies were also reported in other parts of Belarus, including Mogilev, Khrodna, Lida, and Homer.
The day before the protests, security forces in Minsk arrested more than 100 protesters at a women’s march.
Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have taken to the streets over the past seven weeks to demand that Lukashenko step down and new elections be held.
Lukashenko directed a brutal post-election crackdown in response to the protests, including thousands of arrests, beatings and other abuses of peaceful protesters, and the expulsion of foreign journalists.
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