At what stage are the protests in Belarus

President Lukashenko called the protesters "criminals" and represses the protests with violence. There are already over 6 thousand arrests and two deaths. The United Nations denounced human rights violations and ill-treatment of detainees

(photo: Valery Sharifulin / Tass / Getty Images) The protests in Belarus have been going on since 9 July, bringing thousands of people to the streets, especially in the capital Minsk. demonstrators who denounce fraud that would have occurred in the last elections - President Aleksandr Lukashenko won, for the sixth consecutive time, with 80% of the votes - and demand the restoration of the old constitution and a new election organized according to more democratic principles . Although the demonstrations are absolutely peaceful, Lukashenko is relying on force to suppress the dissent expressed by citizens: clashes with the police are on the rise and in just three days there have been about 6 thousand arrests and two deaths. These data were released by the Belarusian Minister of the Interior, who also motivated the causes that led to the two deaths: in the first case, a man died while he was trying to throw an explosive device at the police; in the second, however, a 25-year-old allegedly fell ill while he was in prison for having participated in an unauthorized demonstration. The latter explanation was promptly denied by the victim's mother who, instead, explained that her son was stopped by the police while he was reaching his girlfriend's house.

most of the arrests , as reported by the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, would be arbitrary and would also involve many children. “ There is a clear violation of international standards of human rights and we get numerous reports of ill-treatment during and after detention” , explained the former president of Chile. Anyone who takes the time is the European Union that 14 August should bring together all the ministers of Foreign affairs and decide whether to impose sanctions .

The strategy of president Lukashenko

The belarusian president has described, during a cabinet meeting broadcast by the tv of the country, to the protesters as “people from the criminal past and currently unemployed” . A message emphasised over the other media controlled by the government. On the internet, instead, can thrive in the channels of information antigovernativa, who every day have more and more contacts. Lukashenko – also for this reason – decided, however, to prevent browsing online for three days , restoring it only in the last few hours. The news came outside of Belarus and disseminated on social networks come from bloggers or activists who have managed to bypass the block, or use Vpn connections. Among these, there are also videos of the cops that are shooting at the height of a man, with small plastic balls, or the ones that depict the protesters beaten violently with batons.

If you haven't seen what's happening in Belarus, look into it. This is Minsk tonight. The President/Dictator claims to have won 80% of the vote. Yet thousands and thousands are protesting, saying he stole the election. This is his response 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/LHPL5lCdVw

— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) August 9, 2020



The leader of the opposition, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya , you managed to escape in Lithuania , after having been arrested and forced to record a video message in which he asked belarusians to “obey the law” and not to participate in more events.

❗️Before she was forced by the authorities to leave to Lithuania last night, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was made to record this Kadyrov-style apologizing video where she calls on people to accept the official results and to not protesting pic.twitter.com/W2saD3J11U

— Tadeusz Giczan (@TadeuszGiczan) August 11, 2020



Yet the protests do not stop . Especially in Minsk, as it was said here on the 12th of August more than a hundred women, dressed in white and with flowers in their hands, they created a human chain to protest against the violence of the police. The procession is dissolved in a few hours, preventing the police to intervene.

People march across the streets of #Minsk , some minutes are

vid @rianru pic.twitter.com/bnPfR61ljz

— Denis Kazakiewicz (@Den_2042) August 12, 2020