MINSK, Belarus — Sooner or later after President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus promised to crush with an iron fist the protests which have damaged out since his re-election this month, tens of hundreds of individuals took to the streets of the capital, Minsk, on Sunday to present their dedication to drive him out of workplace.
After per week of rallies and publicity stunts in help of Mr. Lukashenko, who has led Belarus, a former Soviet republic, since 1994, many anticipated the protests in opposition to him to ebb. However by late Sunday afternoon, a sea of individuals had crammed the principle Independence Avenue in central Minsk, blocking all site visitors there and on facet streets.
Some estimates put the variety of demonstrators at properly over 100,000, in what appeared to be a repeat of an identical rally per week earlier.
Though Mr. Lukashenko declared a landslide victory and 80 % of the vote within the Aug. 9 election, protesters and worldwide our bodies, together with the European Union, have referred to as it fraudulent. The principle opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, additionally declared victory and fled to neighboring Lithuania out of concern for her security.
Preliminary protests over the outcomes had been met with a violent crackdown by Mr. Lukashenko’s strong legislation enforcement equipment, together with beatings and mass detentions. No arrests or clashes had been reported on Sunday, regardless of the presence of riot police vans parked close to the demonstrations, though Mr. Lukashenko instructed a rally of supporters within the metropolis of Grodno this weekend that protesters had till Monday to settle down.
Many at Sunday’s protest had been wrapped in Belarus’s conventional white-and-red flag, which turned an opposition image after Mr. Lukashenko changed it with a extra Soviet-looking emblem quickly after coming to energy. A couple of got here with the one utilized by Mr. Lukashenko’s supporters — a bid to present that the nation is united in a need to see him gone from workplace.
“I doesn’t matter what flag it’s, we simply need him to depart,” mentioned Darya O. Rolya, 28, an accountant.
It was unclear how the protesters might obtain that purpose, with Mr. Lukashenko having indicated repeatedly that he has no intention of succumbing to strain from the streets.
“We had elections,” he instructed a crowd of employees final Monday. “Till you kill me, there is not going to be any extra elections.”
Over the previous week, Mr. Lukashenko pushed to rally his supporters across the flag. He made a flurry of statements about an imminent invasion from the West and an inner conspiracy to destabilize Belarus. He accused protesters of being in opposition to Russia — a key ally — and referred to as them “rats” and “trash.” On Sunday, some protesters waved the Russian flag to present that they are not looking for their nation to flip away from Moscow.
A few of Mr. Lukashenko’s assertions appeared directed on the consideration of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who’s leery of any anti-Russian protests in former Soviet republics. On Saturday, Mr. Lukashenko thanked Mr. Putin and referred to as him a good friend, someday after confirming having invited a number of Russian journalists to change the Belarusian ones who resigned from state-run information media shops this month in protest over censorship.
Some protesters mentioned that that they had achieved a major feat by exceeding the turnouts at Mr. Lukashenko’s rallies, however that it might be onerous to put extra strain on the president.
Certainly one of them, Aleksandr I. Potekhin, mentioned the protests wanted a frontrunner.
“By itself, a crowd of individuals can’t obtain a lot,” mentioned Mr. Potekhin, 30, a building engineer. “I really feel that one thing extra radical is required to obtain our goals, however persons are afraid to try this.”
Many Minsk manufacturing unit employees turned out on Sunday however mentioned they had been beneath elevated strain to chorus from the strikes which were staged at state-run factories as protests have continued.
“This example forces us Belarusians to unite,” mentioned Igor Y. Andryushko, 37, a employee at Minsk Tractor Works, one of many most important websites of the employee protests. “I don’t need it to take a violent flip. I feel every thing will finish peacefully.”
