Discos in Italy sow discord as partygoers dance, dance, dance
WERE THEY DOING THE TARANTELLA 

Issued on: 16/08/2020 - 

The staff are all weating masks but it is harder to persuade the customers to observe the rules Andreas SOLARO AFP/File

Ostia (Italy) (AFP)

"Put your masks on!" repeats the DJ, shouting vainly into his microphone, but the dancers below, dripping in sweat, don't seem to care.

At the "Kiki" nightclub in Ostia, a popular seaside resort on the outskirts of Rome, the coronavirus threat seems both distant and yet very present.

During 50's night at this open-air disco on Ostia's beachfront, the rules are well known: a mask is mandatory, and dancing must be done at least one metre from a partner.


"Who cares about all that," laughed one partygoer, Claudio, his belly jutting forward and shirt wide open. With his mask in his pocket, he boogies alone, not to respect social distancing but because his friends are chatting elsewhere.

Around him, the approximately 200 to 300 party-goers dance to the blaring electro music, many without masks as they flirt, laugh and drink gin and tonics in the heat.

It takes the weary insistence of the staff, the calls of the DJ and a rumour of a possible police raid to get the crowd to comply begrudgingly and cover their faces.

- Party pooper -

While the threat of a second wave of coronavirus looms nearer in several European countries, such as Spain, Italy is trying to stem new infections in the middle of "Ferragosto", the sacrosanct holiday weekend of August 15.

Bonfires on the beach and a traditional midnight jump into the sea have been banned this year as arm wrestling between the government and regions goes on over the thorny issue of discos.

The topic is politically sensitive, as authorities don't want to appear to be punishing Italians during well-deserved summer holidays after a gruelling lockdown that was largely respected.

Inside-only nightclubs are still prohibited from operating, but regions have the discretion to open or shut open-air discos.

Calabria, for one, has ordered the closure of all dance venues while Sardinia has kept them open. Some, like Veneto to the north, have ordered reduced occupancy.

The sector employs nearly 50,000 people in 3,000 nightclubs around the country, according to the nightclub operators' union (SILB).

Despite any hit to the economy in keeping discos closed, health authorities acknowledge they represent a serious risk. A meeting on the subject between national and regional government representatives is scheduled for Sunday, according to Italian news wire AGI.

- Wild and free? -

Images of crowds of young holiday-goers dancing and drinking at night have been plastered on the front pages of Italian newspapers.

"The contagion is on the rise but we're dancing," proclaimed the Corriere Della Sera, which slammed Sardinia's clubs as being "joyful contagion machines".

At "Manila Beach" in Fregene, on the coast outside Rome, party organiser Gianluca Skiki said his venue, which normally welcomes up to 2,000 customers on its beach, has to make do with 250.

Despite some semblances of a nightclub -- a DJ, sequined miniskirts and high heels worn by some -- the experience appears odd. Couples sit at tables with distance between them to eat, and are instructed to dance only in front of their tables.

"If the police come, everyone has to be at their table," Skiki explained. "There's no real nightclub here any more, it's about the only thing we're allowed to organise."

He acknowledged the experience falls short of the carefree, wild parties of the past.

"I hope it will be the last of its kind..."

© 2020 AFP

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Dancing mania was a social phenomenon that occurred primarily in mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. It involved groups of people dancing erratically, sometimes thousands at a time. The mania affected men, women, and children who danced until they ... The 1374 outbreak occurred only decades after the Black Death, and was ...

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SHADES OF HAYMARKET  

'Shot right in the chest': partner denies Belarus protester died from own bomb

Officials say Alexander Taraikovsky was holding a bomb that exploded but Elena German says only injury was to his chest

Warning: this report contains a graphic image


Associated Press

Sun 16 Aug 2020
 

Elena German, the partner of Alexander Taraikovsky, who died during a protest against Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. Photograph: Mstyslav Chernov/AP


The partner of a man who died in the protests engulfing Belarus says she does not believe the official account that Alexander Taraikovsky was killed when an explosive device that he intended to throw at police blew up in his hand.

Elena German told the Associated Press on Saturday that she was sure her 34-year-old partner was shot by police.

German spoke a few hours before Taraikovsky’s funeral and burial, an event that could reinforce the anger of demonstrators who have protested what they consider a sham presidential election and the violent police crackdown on opposition.

Taraikovsky died on Monday as protests roiled the streets of Minsk, the capital, denouncing official figures that showed the authoritarian president, Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, had won a sixth term in office.


Belarus's leader pleads for Putin's help as post-election protests grow

Read more

German was able to visit the morgue and see his body on Friday, four days after he died. She said she did not believe he had been holding an explosive.

“There is a seam in the chest area – the hole was sewn up, but there is a black bruise; it’s small but we noticed. His hands and feet are completely intact, there are not even bruises,” she said.

“Obviously, it was a shot right in the chest.”

Video taken by an Associated Press journalist on Monday shows Taraikovsky with a bloodied shirt before collapsing on the ground. Several police are seen nearby and some walk over to where Taraikovsky is lying on the street and stand around him.
A still from Associated Press footage shows a protester recognised as Alexander Taraikovsky. Photograph: Mstyslav Chernov/AP

The video does not show why he fell to the ground or how his shirt became bloodied, but it also does not show that he had an explosive device that blew up in his hand, as the government has said.


The Belarus interior ministry has declined to comment on the situation, beyond its initial claim that a protester died because of a hand-held explosive.

German said she intends to seek a full investigation. She has called on a Belarusian human rights organisation for help, and wants international experts to take part in a probe.

“I am feeling outraged. I’m angry. That is why I want to achieve justice,” she said. “In fact, I am very scared. I was left alone, without support. I feel empty.”

About 500 people came to pay last respects to Taraikovsky, who lay in an open casket. As the coffin was carried out, many dropped to one knee, weeping and exclaiming “Long live Belarus!”

German said Taraikovsky had worked hard at his automobile repair business and that neither of them had been interested in politics until the 9 August presidential election.

The family’s views began to change after she and her husband attended a 60,000-strong campaign rally for the main opposition candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a former teacher and the wife of a jailed blogger. Then they decided to support the post-election protests.

“He was very indignant at the illegal detentions and was proud of the people. He said, ‘Finally, finally!’ We discussed all the news every evening,” she said.

“No matter how hard they try to put up some kind of barriers, turn off the internet, disperse these rallies, we are not fools – everyone understands everything,” German said.

Later Saturday, thousands rallied at the site where Taraikovsky died in Minsk, demanding that Lukashenko resign, with some protesters showing bruises they said were due to police beatings. The authoritarian leader himself said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to help provide security to counter the protests in Belarus if he asked for such help.

VIDEO REPORTS
Lukashenko addresses supporters amid rival rallies in Belarus
Issued on: 16/08/2020 -

Text by:FRANCE 24Follow

Embattled Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, speaking at a rally of his supporters in Minsk ahead of a planned opposition protest on Sunday, rejected calls to hold a new presidential election and accused NATO of massing on his country's western border.

Lukashenko addressed his supporters near the Government House in Independence Square hours before tens of thousands of opposition protesters began gathering in the same area of the capital chanting “Leave!”.

The opposition “March for Freedom” marked a week-long display of dissent against Lukashenko – dubbed “Europe’s last dictator – since last Sunday’s vote, which protesters say were rigged.

The strongman, who has ruled Belarus for the last 26 years, is facing the greatest challenge to his leadership following a post-electoral police crackdown in which at least two people have died.

"I'm not a fan of rallies but, alas, it's not my fault I had to call you to help me," the 65-year-old said as some 10,000 supporters waved national flags and shouted "Thank you!" and "Belarus!".it


Defiant Lukashenko refuses to backdown despite the protests

Wiping his brow, the president standing at a podium in a short-sleeved shirt, insisted on the legitimacy of last Sunday's presidential poll in which he claimed victory over popular opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

"The elections were valid. There could not be more than 80 percent of votes falsified. We will not hand over the country," he said, as Tikhanovskaya has called for fresh elections after the official count gave Lukashenko 80 percent and her 10 percent.

‘NATO troops are at our gates’

Lukashenko warned of a threat from neighbouring NATO countries, claiming the military alliance had deployed tanks and planes 15 minutes from the Belarusian border.

"NATO troops are at our gates. Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and our native Ukraine are ordering us to hold new elections," he said.

Lukashenko looked rattled as he talked about the threat of protests to the country

A spokeswoman for the Brussels-based military alliance however denied Lukashenko’s claim, saying there was no NATO buildup in eastern Europe.

NATO member Lithuania also denied it posed a military threat to neighbouring Belarus. "The Belarus crisis is a political one, and any allegations by the Belarus leadership about foreign countries' interference or about threats they pose are an attempt to shift blame and justify its own actions," said Lithuanian Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis

At the rally on Independence Square Sunday, Lukashenko said Belarus would "die as a state" if new polls were held.

"I have never betrayed you and will never do so," he said.

Often emotional in state TV appearances, the president had already alleged a foreign-backed plot to topple him.

He then asked his supporters, many of them bused into the capital, according to local journalists, if they wanted new elections. "No!" the crowd shouted.

"If we kowtow to them, we will go into a tailspin and will never stabilise our aircraft," he said.

"We will perish as a state, as a people, as a nation," he said, as security staff stood nearby with his teenage son, Nikolai.

Protests at state TV building

His address came a day after thousands demonstrated in Minsk after Tikhanovskaya's call for protests.

Many gathered at the spot where Alexander Taraikovsky, 34, died last week during protests against the election result.

Demonstrators heaped flowers at the spot and the crowd chanted "Thank you!" and raised victory signs. Police kept a low profile.


Belarus' Lukashenko reaches out to Putin

Many held up photographs of protesters beaten during the crackdown, while one man stood in his underwear revealing the purple bruises on his thighs, buttocks and back.

Later thousands protested outside the Belarusian state television centre, complaining that their broadcasts backed Lukashenko and gave a skewed picture of the protests.

‘If Russia intervenes, that would be the worst’

Facing the biggest challenge to his rule since taking power in 1994, Lukashenko called in Moscow's help and spoke on the phone with Putin Saturday, after warning there was "a threat not only to Belarus".

He later told military chiefs that Putin had offered "comprehensive help" to "ensure the security of Belarus".

The Kremlin said the leaders agreed the "problems" in Belarus would be "resolved soon" and the countries' ties strengthened.

While Lukashenko periodically plays Moscow off against the neighbouring EU, Russia is Belarus's closest ally and the countries have formed a "union state" linking their economies and militaries.

Lukashenko criticised Russia during his election campaign and Belarus detained 33 Russians on suspicion of planning riots ahead of polls.

Opposition protesters slammed Lukashenko for now seeking Moscow's aid and said they fear Russian intervention.

"It's obvious that our president can't deal with his own people any more, he's seeking help in the east," said Alexei Linich, a 27-year-old programmer.

"If Russia intervenes, that would be the worst. I'm really afraid of this," said Olga Nesteruk, a landscape designer.

'Will not give up the country'

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday urged Lukashenko to "engage with civil society", during a trip to Poland, which has offered to act as a mediator.

Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old political novice who ran after other opposition candidates including her husband were jailed, has demanded that Lukashenko step down so new elections can be held. Tikhanovskaya left the country on Tuesday for neighbouring Lithuania, with her allies saying she came under official pressure.


'Main demand is clear and transparent elections', Belarus opposition protester says



She is also demanding authorities be held to account for the crackdown, which saw police use rubber bullets, stun grenades and, in at least one case, live rounds to disperse protesters, with at least 6,700 people detained and hundreds injured.

Officials have confirmed two deaths in the unrest, including Taraikovsky -- who they say died when an explosive device went off in his hand during a protest -- and another man who died in custody in the southeastern city of Gomel.

Call for 'free and fair' vote

On Friday authorities began releasing hundreds of those arrested and many gave horrific accounts of beatings and torture.

European Union ministers have agreed to draw up a list of targets in Belarus for a new round of sanctions in response to the post-election crackdown.


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The leaders of the three ex-Soviet Baltic states – Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia – on Saturday condemned the crackdown and called for a new vote.

Lukashenko has dismissed the demonstrators as foreign-controlled "sheep" and "people with a criminal past who are now unemployed", repeatedly accusing foreign governments of plotting his downfall.

Tikhanovskaya on Friday announced the creation of a Coordination Council to ensure a transfer of power, asking foreign governments to "help us in organising a dialogue with Belarusian authorities".

She demanded the authorities release all detainees, remove security forces from the streets and open criminal cases against those who ordered the crackdown.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

Belarus's leader pleads for Putin's help as post-election protests grow

Alexander Lukashenko tells the Kremlin that unrest could spread to Moscow next if his regime is destabilised


Shaun Walker in Minsk

Sat 15 Aug 2020
 

Demonstrators at the memorial ceremony for Alexander Taraikovsky, who died during a demonstration last Monday, on the outskirts of Minsk Photograph: EPA


The embattled Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has called on Vladimir Putin to help him quell the growing wave of protest inside the country, which has left his legitimacy in tatters and his regime facing its biggest crisis since he first came to power 26 years ago.

Lukashenko appealed to the Russian president’s visceral fear of revolution at home and suggested that if his regime fell, Putin too was in danger. “This is a threat not just to Belarus … if Belarusians do not hold out, the wave will head over there too,” he said in televised remarks to a meeting of advisers on Saturday, claiming that the protests were organised by shadowy figures from abroad.

“Both sides expressed confidence that all the problems that have arisen will be resolved soon,” said a Kremlin transcript of a phone call between the two men, which took place later on Saturday.

After the call, Lukashenko reportedly told military chiefs that Putin had offered “comprehensive help” to “ensure the security of Belarus”.Belarus

Lukashenko’s words came as protest organisers said they would hold what they believe would be the biggest demonstration in Belarusian history on Sunday, following a week in which events moved with remarkable speed after Lukashenko claimed to have secured 80% of the vote in last Sunday’s presidential election.

His challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was forced to flee to neighbouring Lithuania last Monday, stood on a platform of organising new and free elections, and won widespread support. Tens of thousands of protesters on Saturday again took over the centre of Minsk, some chanting Tikhanovskaya’s name. Joyous groups cheered, held aloft flowers and flags, and were serenaded by the horns of passing cars, amid a carnival atmosphere that suggested the “revolution” had already been successful.

After horrific violence last week, riot police have left protesters alone since Thursday, but the appeal to Putin, plus a threat that those who continue to come out on to the streets would be “cannon fodder”, suggest that Lukashenko is considering a new crackdown.

At midday on Saturday, thousands gathered at Pushkinskaya, an intersection on the outskirts of Minsk, to pay their respects to Alexander Taraikovsky, who was the first confirmed death of the protest last Monday night. Authorities claim he died when an explosive device went off in his hand, but video and testimony from the scene suggest he was unarmed.


It was hard to believe only five days had passed since the incident, as protesters gathered in the sunshine on Saturday. Despite widespread shock and anger, the mood in the country has somehow become celebratory rather than mournful.
Belarus’s opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, was forced to flee to neighbouring Lithuania in the wake of the election result. Photograph: Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images

Andrei Syrokvash, 31, a programmer who was arrested in the early hours of Monday while peacefully walking home with a friend, could not believe his eyes when he was released on Thursday. “All the flags, the way people were just demonstrating without fear, I felt like I had been released into a different country,” he said.


The level of violence was shocking even in a region where the riot police are known for showing little mercy towards political protesters. Many detainees have told of beatings and torture in prisons, and the full horror of what happened at the beginning of last week is still emerging.

One doctor, who asked to remain anonymous, told how she received patients on Tuesday night whose bodies were “covered in blood and bruises, you could see the places where they had been kicked with boots and beaten with batons”. Another doctor said he had seen patients with broken bones, burns and concussion.

Throughout last week, Lukashenko provided a masterclass in how to win an election and lose all legitimacy within the space of a few days. It is possible that if he had acted with more restraint – rigging the vote with a more plausible margin of victory, or crushing the protests but without the systematic sadism – he could now be sailing towards another term of stagnant authoritarianism.

Instead, he is clinging on, and the coalition opposed to him has broadened with extraordinary speed. Columns of protesting teachers and doctors have marched through Minsk in recent days; miners and factory workers have gone on strike along with musicians and IT professionals.

Almost every car passing the demonstration at Pushkinskaya on Saturday honked in support. A young man on a scooter held up flowers; a heavy-set track-suited taxi driver pulled his car closer to the pavement so he could high-five the protesters as he drove by; an elderly woman with a nest of bleached blond hair unexpectedly flashed a victory sign from aboard a bus.


In the regions, too, there have been daily protests. The sudden and dramatic change of mood is mainly down to a recalibration of how life can be lived under an authoritarian leader.

“To be honest, I never thought about politics, I never watched the news, I always enjoyed living in Minsk and never felt threatened,” said Anastasia Ivanova, 29, who works in a beauty salon. She said she has never voted nor attended a protest before Thursday. “But now three of my friends have been beaten up, and I’ve realised that’s not a sustainable position,” she said, as she held up a sign that said “Resign!” at Pushkinskaya.


Friends, do not succumb to euphoria too early!Belamova, social media channel

The police and army remain under Lukashenko’s control but there have even been a few isolated videos from smaller towns that seem to show policemen acting in solidarity with the protesters.

On Friday evening, Lukashenko angrily warned people not go out to the streets, telling them they were being used by shadowy foreign forces as “cannon fodder”, an ominous statement given that he is the man holding the cannon. In the end, though, riot police did not move against protesters outside parliament later in the evening.

As his position looks ever more precarious, it is possible that some ministers or army generals may move against Lukashenko to sacrifice the leader but save the regime. However, analysts find this implausible. “They all owe their positions to Lukashenko. Not one of them is an independent figure, and none of them are able to make an independent decision,” said Alexander Feduta, a political analyst and former presidential aide.

A lot may now depend on Putin. Russia and Belarus are technically part of a “union state”, but Lukashenko has resisted closer integration in recent years and proved a tricky partner for the Kremlin. Still, Putin will be keen to keep Belarus as a strategic ally and not to see street protests win out in yet another neighbouring state.

On Saturday, the mood in Minsk was more akin to a street party after an unfancied national football team qualifies for the World Cup, than to the crucial stage of a revolution that has yet to succeed. Protest organisers have called for everyone to converge on central Minsk at lunchtime on Sunday, in what may be a crunch moment for both the protesters and the regime.

For some, the cheering and celebrations of protesters seem dangerously premature. Belamova, a channel on the mobile app Telegram with half a million subscribers, put out a warning to protesters on Saturday morning: “Friends, do not succumb to euphoria too early! Even though we have set in motion processes that will be irreversible for Lukashenko the tyrant, he is still in power. So it’s early to celebrate. Very early.”

Tens of thousands gather in Minsk for biggest protest in Belarus history
Alexander Lukashenko claims Vladimir Putin has offered him ‘comprehensive help’

Shaun Walker in Minsk
Sun 16 Aug 2020

Belarusian opposition supporters rally in the centre of Minsk. Photograph: Mstyslav Chernov/AP

Tens of thousands of Belarusians have gathered in Minsk for the biggest protest in the country’s history, as an extraordinary week of rising sentiment comes to a close.

Seven days after the country’s authoritarian ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, claimed to have secured 80% of the vote in a presidential election, his legitimacy is in tatters and his regime faces its biggest crisis since he came to power 26 years ago. The mood at Sunday’s rally was stoked further by egregious police violence against thousands of protesters earlier in the week.


After Lukashenko called his own rally in Independence Square, the anti-government protesters instead converged on a second world war monument in another part of the city. The carnival atmosphere of the last three days continued, as people cheered, passing cars beeped their horns and chants of “resign!” rang out.

Maria Kolesnikova, one of a trio of female opposition leaders including presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, told a small part of the crowd through a portable speaker that she was appealing to Belarusian law enforcement officials and diplomats: “This is your last chance to fight your fear. We were all scared too. Join us and we will support you.”

The protest came as the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, told Lukashenko in a phone call on Sunday that Moscow stood ready to provide help in accordance with a collective military pact if necessary.

The Kremlin said in a statement that external pressure was being applied to Belarus. It did not say by whom.

Lukashenko addressed a crowd of several thousand supporters in front of the country’s parliament on Sunday. They waved Belarusian flags and cheered as he said he had no intention of giving up the country, and suggested Nato forces were preparing to invade.

LUKASHENKO SUPPORTERS

“I have never betrayed you and I never will,” he said, bowing to the assembled crowd. “If you destroy Lukashenko, it will be the beginning of the end for you.”

The president has also appealed to Putin’s visceral fear of revolution at home and suggested that if his regime fell, the his Russian counterpart would also be in danger. “This is a threat not just to Belarus … if Belarusians do not hold out, the wave will head over there too,” he said in televised remarks on Saturday to a meeting of advisers in which he claimed the protests had been organised by shadowy figures from abroad.

“Both sides expressed confidence that all the problems that have arisen will be resolved soon,” a Kremlin transcript of the phone call between the two men read.

Russia and Belarus are technically part of a “union state”, but Lukashenko has resisted closer integration in recent years and proved a tricky partner for Moscow. Putin will, however, still be keen to keep Belarus as a strategic ally and for street protests not win out in yet another neighbouring state.

Lukashenko’s challenger in last week’s vote, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who was fled to neighbouring Lithuania on Monday, called on Belarusians to protest this weekend in a video address released on Friday.


After ruthless violence at the beginning of last week, riot police have left protesters alone since Thursday. Despite widespread shock and anger, the mood in the country has somehow become celebratory rather than mournful, with columns of smiling protesters holding aloft flowers and cheering, as if the revolution had already won.

Rallies over the past three days have been decentralised and scattered across the city, but the plan on Sunday is for all those opposed to Lukashenko’s rule to converge on the centre of Minsk. There are also reports of plans for a counter-rally of Lukashenko’s supporters, a constituency that has been entirely absent from view this week.



FORMER PARATROOPER BRIGADE JOINS PROTESTS

Lukashenko has been losing support fast, and tens of thousands of workers from state-controlled factories have joining strikes. Journalists at Belarusian state television announced demands on Saturday to report the news objectively, and the head of the Belarusian senate visited in an attempt to calm them down.

The Belarusian ambassador to Slovakia released a video in support of the protests overnight, saying a classmate of his daughter was one of those who had been badly beaten by police, comparing their actions with those of Joseph Stalin’s NKVD, the secret police that tortured and executed hundreds of thousands of people in the 1930s.

Lukashenko’s appeal to Putin, and his threat that those who continue to come out on to the streets would be “cannon fodder”, suggest that he is considering a new crackdown. The police and army remain under his control, but there have been a few isolated videos from smaller towns that seem to show police acting in solidarity with the protesters.


As his position looks ever more precarious, it is possible that some ministers or army generals may move against Lukashenko to sacrifice the leader but save the regime. Analysts, however, find this implausible. “They all owe their positions to Lukashenko. Not one of them is an independent figure, and none of them are able to make an independent decision,” said Alexander Feduta, a political analyst and former presidential aide.

The mood in Minsk on Saturday was more akin to a street party after an unfancied national football team qualifies for the World Cup than to the crucial stage of a revolution that has yet to succeed. Protest organisers have called for everyone to converge on central Minsk at lunchtime on Sunday, in what may be a crunch moment for both the protesters and the regime.

For some, the cheering and celebrations of protesters seem dangerously premature. Belamova, a channel on the mobile app Telegram with 500,000 subscribers, issued a warning to protesters on Saturday morning: “Friends, do not succumb to euphoria too early! Even though we have set in motion processes that will be irreversible for Lukashenko the tyrant, he is still in power. So it’s early to celebrate. Very early.”

Belarus: Lukashenko rejects calls for new elections, claims NATO deployed to border
The embattled Belarusian president says NATO has sent tanks and planes to its western border. Alexander Lukashenko urged supporters to defend the country as tens of thousands of protesters again demanded he steps down.

LUKASHENKO ISSUES ANOTHER FALSE FLAG, HE DID THIS BEFORE THE ELECTIONS WITH CLAIMS THAT RUSSIA(!!) HAD SENT MERCENARIES (PM WAGNER)  INTO BELARUS TO PLOT A COUP.

HE HIS GOVT AND PRESS CONTINUE TO CALL PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATORS RIOTERS.

HE IS MAKING EXCUSES FOR MARTIAL LAW

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday accused NATO of deploying tanks and planes to Belarus' western border, a claim the military alliance rejected.Speaking at a rally of his supporters in central Minsk, the 65-year-old leader dismissed opposition calls for a new election and urged Belarusians to defend their country.

"I called you here not to defend me, but for the first time in a quarter-century, to defend your country and its independence," he said to the 3,000 strong crowd, just as tens of thousands of protesters once again hit the streets in several cities demanding his ouster.


Lukashenko appeals to his supporters to defend Belarus
NATO denies build-up

NATO said it was closely monitoring events in Belarus, but denied a military buildup was underway in eastern Europe.

"NATO's multinational presence in the eastern part of the Alliance is not a threat to any country. It is strictly defensive, proportionate, and designed to prevent conflict and preserve peace," a NATO spokeswoman said in a statement.

Read more: Belarus: Lukashenko claims Russia is ready to help 'ensure security'

Belarus has been rocked by demonstrations since last Sunday when Lukashenko claimed victory in a presidential election his opponents say was rigged. Two people have died in the protests and thousands have been arrested.

Read more: DW's Belarus correspondent released after 10-day arrest

Unrest 'caused by foreign interference'

Lukashenko, who has led the former Soviet state for 26 years, denies election fraud. He says foreign interference is to blame for the unrest.

"If we kowtow to them, we will go into a tailspin," he told his supporters. "We will perish as a state, as a people, as a nation."

"The motherland is in danger!" one speaker told the crowd, as people chanted "We are united," and waved the national flag.

"I'm for Lukashenko," Alla Georgievna, 68, told Reuters news agency. "I don't understand why everyone has risen up against him. We get our pensions and salaries on time thanks to him."


Anti-government protesters marched down Minsk's Independence Avenue following an opposition call for the biggest rally yet

Opposition marches draw huge crowdsMeanwhile, tens of thousands of opposition supporters were holding a nationwide "March for Freedom" to renew pressure on Lukashenko to step down.

Columns of protesters raised victory signs and held flowers and balloons. Many wore white, the color that has come to symbolize the opposition movement.

Demonstrators held placards with slogans such as "We are against violence" and "Lukashenko must answer for the torture and dead."

At a war memorial where the march was to culminate, an AFP journalist estimated that up to 100,000 people had gathered.

DW's Moscow correspondent Emily Sherwin tweeted that there are signs that the state TV channel could flout government control after several high-profile staff resigned.

Russia offers security assistance

Earlier on Sunday, Russia said it had offered Belarus military assistance if necessary. Moscow also said external pressure was being applied to the country, but did not say where from.

Lukashenko told state TV he would move an air assault brigade to Belarus' western border. According to the RIA news agency, the Belarusian army also plans to hold weeklong drills to strengthen the country's borders with Poland and Lithuania starting on Monday.
EU sanctions to target 'specific' officials

The European Union says the presidential vote was neither free nor fair, and is preparing to impose sanctions over the post-election crackdown.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that the sanctions are designed to target specific individuals.

"This is not about economic sanctions, which would primarily affect the Belarusian population, but we as the EU want to punish specific individuals proven to have been involved in rigging the election and violence against demonstrators," Maas said.

nm/mm (Reuters, AFP)

DW's Belarus correspondent released after 10-day arrest

Alexander Burakov has been released after spending 10 days in detention. He told DW his arrest was linked to the authorities' efforts to hinder independent journalists from covering the presidential election.


Freelance journalist Alexander Burakov, who reports for DW's Russian service, was released from detention late Saturday evening after being held for 10 days. Speaking to DW shortly after his release, Burakov said he was doing fine. He said he had no idea about what was going on in the country in the aftermath of last Sunday's presidential election, since he had no access to any information in prison.

"The radio in my cell was switched off, so I was in a total information vacuum. I just got to know that people had died during the protests. I am shocked," he said.

Read more: DW correspondent arrested in Belarus

Burakov said he didn't have any complaints about how the police officers had treated him in the detention. However, he called his arrest "a farce," saying it was part of the authorities' effort to prevent independent journalists from reporting about the presidential election, which took place on August 9.

Mass protests broke out in major cities across Belarus last week after longtime President Alexander Lukashenko secured a sixth consecutive term following an election that the opposition said was rigged.

Why was Burakov arrested?

Burakov was first arrested on August 5 by police in his hometown Mogilyov, 200 kilometers (120 miles) east of the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The police suspected him of "transporting counterfeit alcohol," he told DW. After they didn't find anything illegal in the car, the officers alleged that the vehicle, which he has owned since 2013, had been stolen and the car's identification number was fake. As a result, the journalist was taken to the local police station.

A few hours later, Burakov was released, only to be arrested again outside the police station. Burakov said an unknown woman approached him after he left the police station. "I didn't even see her face and didn't know what was happening," the journalist said, adding that the police officers showed up and took him back to the station. The woman later told police that Burakov had cursed and pushed her, he said.

On August 7, the court sent Burakov to a detention facility on charges of petty hooliganism. The journalist denied the allegations.

DW Director General Peter Limbourg protested against the sentence, saying the reasons for Burakov's arrest and conviction provided by the authorities "can only be interpreted as a flimsy excuse to hinder critical and independent journalism a few days before the presidential elections in Belarus."

"On behalf of Deutsche Welle, I protest firmly and in the strongest terms against this obviously arbitrary state action. It blatantly disregards the internationally guaranteed freedom of the press," Limbourg said in a statement issued on August 7. He also demanded that the government in Belarus immediately investigate this case.

Earlier this year, on May 8, Burakov was arrested for participating in an unsanctioned demonstration. The journalist said he didn't take part in the protest and was only there as a journalist and a human rights activist.

Read more: German Foreign Minister Maas vows to ramp up pressure on Belarus

Crackdown on independent journalists

Burakov is one of the several journalists targeted by Belarusian authorities in the past few weeks. Dozens of foreign and local journalists have been arrested during protests that broke out after the controversial election. According to the Belarusian Association of Journalists, about 70 journalists have been detained during the protests against Lukashenko.

Many Belarusian journalists have reportedly quit their jobs at state media outlets in the past few days, with many condemning the police violence against protesters on social media.

Read more: Arrested protesters talk of brutality

Reporters Without Borders said it was "highly alarmed about the numerous arrests of journalists in Belarus after the presidential election." According to a statement released by the media watchdog on Friday, journalists were arbitrarily detained, beaten up and jailed for a longe period of time.

"Such an attack on the free press, particularly in a European country, is absolutely unacceptable," said Michael Rediske, a spokesman for the organization's board. "If the attacks don't stop immediately, the European Union should think about further measures and, for instance, impose sanctions against those politically responsible in Belarus."

Foreign ministers of the European Union countries agreed on Friday to impose new sanctions targeting Belarusian officials responsible for the violent crackdown on demonstrators and journalists.