Issued on: 12/09/2020 -
Law enforcement officers block demonstrators during a women's rally against police brutality following protests to reject the presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, September 12, 2020. via REUTERS - TUT.BY
Belarus police detained dozens of protesters on Saturday as thousands of people gathered in the capital Minsk demanding the release of a jailed opposition leader, the latest in a wave of mass protests following a disputed election.
Maria Kolesnikova, 38, has emerged as a key opposition figure after others were either jailed or forced out of the country, including Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who challenged President Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential election.
Protesters say the Aug. 9 election was rigged to hand Lukashenko a phoney landslide win and that Tsikhanouskaya - who has since fled to Lithuania - was the real winner. Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, denies this and has said foreign powers are behind the protests.
At least 5,000 protesters, many of them women, gathered in central Minsk on Saturday, chanting "Go away!" in reference to Lukashenko, and "Masha" - a common alternative for Maria - in support of Kolesnikova, a Reuters witness said.
"Sveta is my president, Masha is my queen," read one of the slogans held up in the crowd.
Police starting detaining people shortly after the protests started at 1200 GMT, putting at least 40 into police vans in the first hour of the rally alone, according to the witness.
Kolesnikova was driven to the Ukrainian border earlier last week after being seen snatched off the streets of Minsk and into a van by masked men.
Belarus police detained dozens of protesters on Saturday as thousands of people gathered in the capital Minsk demanding the release of a jailed opposition leader, the latest in a wave of mass protests following a disputed election.
Maria Kolesnikova, 38, has emerged as a key opposition figure after others were either jailed or forced out of the country, including Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who challenged President Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential election.
Protesters say the Aug. 9 election was rigged to hand Lukashenko a phoney landslide win and that Tsikhanouskaya - who has since fled to Lithuania - was the real winner. Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, denies this and has said foreign powers are behind the protests.
At least 5,000 protesters, many of them women, gathered in central Minsk on Saturday, chanting "Go away!" in reference to Lukashenko, and "Masha" - a common alternative for Maria - in support of Kolesnikova, a Reuters witness said.
"Sveta is my president, Masha is my queen," read one of the slogans held up in the crowd.
Police starting detaining people shortly after the protests started at 1200 GMT, putting at least 40 into police vans in the first hour of the rally alone, according to the witness.
Kolesnikova was driven to the Ukrainian border earlier last week after being seen snatched off the streets of Minsk and into a van by masked men.
According to two allies who were with her, she prevented being expelled from Belarus by tearing her passport up into small pieces and throwing it out of a car window. She is now detained in Minsk, and faces a potential long prison term over accusations of trying to seize power illegally.
Tsikhanouskaya,who stood against Lukashenko in place of her better-known husband who was detained before election, called on Saturday for the police to stop cracking down on dissent.
"Violence you are putting on women is disgraceful," she said in a statement. "Anyone who commits a crime against peaceful protesters will be called to answer."
(REUTERS)
Tsikhanouskaya,who stood against Lukashenko in place of her better-known husband who was detained before election, called on Saturday for the police to stop cracking down on dissent.
"Violence you are putting on women is disgraceful," she said in a statement. "Anyone who commits a crime against peaceful protesters will be called to answer."
(REUTERS)
Belarus: Women attacked and detained as protests persist
Demonstrations against the embattled regime of Alexander Lukashenko have continued in Minsk despite ongoing repression. Female protesters were kettled and attacked by masked men not wearing insignias.
Belarusian riot police on Saturday violently detained several dozen women demonstrators, as President Alexander Lukashenko's regime continued to resort to violence against its own people to cling to power.
Clashes broke out in Minsk's Freedom Square as men in blackface masks and green uniforms without insignia shoved and kettled the women protesters, as was visible in footage broadcast by Belsat TV channel and Tut.by, a Belarusian independent outlet.
Confrontation with authorities
Some protesters pushed back and tried to unmask the uniformed men.
Another video showed riot police officers roughly throwing the women into police vans. The Viasna rights group said at least 45 people were detained.
Unprecedented demonstrations have erupted in recent weeks after the president defeated opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and won re-election with 80% of the vote on August 9.
Tsikhanouskaya's supporters dispute the result, and the candidate is currently in exile in Lithuania.
Lukashenko told to 'Go away!'
Reuters reported that many of the 5,000 protesters present on Saturday chanted "Go away!" in reference to Lukashenko, and "Masha" — a common alternative for Maria — in support of opposition activist, Maria Kolesnikova.
The 38-year-old is one of several of Lukashenko's opponents who have been jailed or detained over recent weeks.
Kolesnikova was detained after she resisted forced expulsion from the country by ripping up her passport.
Read more: Maria Kolesnikova, musician and Lukashenko opponent
On Saturday, Kolesnikova was moved to a new location northeast of the Belarusian capital. The opposition wrote on Twitter that they had not been told the reason for the move.
Belarus opposition politician remains in police custody
Kolesnikova is a close ally of Tsikhanouskaya and the pair are members of the 7-person Coordination Council, which the election candidate set up to demand new elections in the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million people.
bk/mm (dpa, Reuters, AFP)
Belarus: dozens of peaceful female protesters thrown into vans by riot police
Rally in Minsk against disputed re-election of Lukashenko was attended by thousands
Demonstrations against the embattled regime of Alexander Lukashenko have continued in Minsk despite ongoing repression. Female protesters were kettled and attacked by masked men not wearing insignias.
Belarusian riot police on Saturday violently detained several dozen women demonstrators, as President Alexander Lukashenko's regime continued to resort to violence against its own people to cling to power.
Clashes broke out in Minsk's Freedom Square as men in blackface masks and green uniforms without insignia shoved and kettled the women protesters, as was visible in footage broadcast by Belsat TV channel and Tut.by, a Belarusian independent outlet.
Confrontation with authorities
Some protesters pushed back and tried to unmask the uniformed men.
Another video showed riot police officers roughly throwing the women into police vans. The Viasna rights group said at least 45 people were detained.
Unprecedented demonstrations have erupted in recent weeks after the president defeated opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and won re-election with 80% of the vote on August 9.
Tsikhanouskaya's supporters dispute the result, and the candidate is currently in exile in Lithuania.
Lukashenko told to 'Go away!'
Reuters reported that many of the 5,000 protesters present on Saturday chanted "Go away!" in reference to Lukashenko, and "Masha" — a common alternative for Maria — in support of opposition activist, Maria Kolesnikova.
The 38-year-old is one of several of Lukashenko's opponents who have been jailed or detained over recent weeks.
Kolesnikova was detained after she resisted forced expulsion from the country by ripping up her passport.
Read more: Maria Kolesnikova, musician and Lukashenko opponent
On Saturday, Kolesnikova was moved to a new location northeast of the Belarusian capital. The opposition wrote on Twitter that they had not been told the reason for the move.
Belarus opposition politician remains in police custody
Kolesnikova is a close ally of Tsikhanouskaya and the pair are members of the 7-person Coordination Council, which the election candidate set up to demand new elections in the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million people.
bk/mm (dpa, Reuters, AFP)
Belarus: dozens of peaceful female protesters thrown into vans by riot police
Rally in Minsk against disputed re-election of Lukashenko was attended by thousands
Police officers block protesters during an opposition rally in Minsk on Saturday protesting against the presidential election results. Photograph: Misha Friedman/AP
Agence France-Presse in Minsk
Sat 12 Sep 2020
Agence France-Presse in Minsk
Sat 12 Sep 2020
Belarusian riot police detained several dozen women demonstrators and threw them into vans, as thousands took to the streets of the capital to protest against police violence and electoral fraud.
Before a massive protest expected on Sunday, columns of female protesters gathered in central Minsk for a peaceful women’s protest. Some beat saucepans with ladles and others chanted “Bring back our Masha”, referring to opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova by her diminutive name.
Kolesnikova, 38, was jailed this week after she resisted forced expulsion by ripping up her passport.
Opposition activist Nina Baginskaya, 73, tries to remove the mask of a riot police officer during a rally in Minsk on 12 September. Photograph: TUT.BY/AFP/Getty Images
But scuffles broke out in Freedom Square in central Minsk as men in black masks sought to detain some women protesters and they pushed back, footage broadcast by Belsat TV channel and Tut.by, a Belarusian independent outlet, showed.
Another video showed riot police officers roughly throwing female protesters into police vans.
The Viasna rights group said 30 protesters had been detained.
The spokeswoman for the interior ministry, Olga Chemodanova, told AFP that “women had been detained” but could not say how many or provide other details.
Belsat, a Warsaw-based opposition television channel, said on Telegram that two of its journalists covering the protest had also been detained.
Unprecedented demonstrations broke out in Belarus after strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 26 years, claimed to have defeated opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and won re-election with 80% of the vote on 9 August.
On Monday, Lukashenko is to hold talks with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, in Sochi, with the two due to discuss plans to further integrate their countries.
But scuffles broke out in Freedom Square in central Minsk as men in black masks sought to detain some women protesters and they pushed back, footage broadcast by Belsat TV channel and Tut.by, a Belarusian independent outlet, showed.
Another video showed riot police officers roughly throwing female protesters into police vans.
The Viasna rights group said 30 protesters had been detained.
The spokeswoman for the interior ministry, Olga Chemodanova, told AFP that “women had been detained” but could not say how many or provide other details.
Belsat, a Warsaw-based opposition television channel, said on Telegram that two of its journalists covering the protest had also been detained.
Unprecedented demonstrations broke out in Belarus after strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 26 years, claimed to have defeated opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and won re-election with 80% of the vote on 9 August.
On Monday, Lukashenko is to hold talks with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, in Sochi, with the two due to discuss plans to further integrate their countries.
Masked Men Detain Female Protesters in Belarus
By VOA News
September 12, 2020
An elderly woman rips the mask off a police officer during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sept. 12, 2020.
Thousands of Belarusians demonstrated Saturday in Minsk to demand the release of opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova, who was jailed this week after she resisted expulsion from the country.
Video broadcast by Polish-funded satellite TV channel Belsat and independent outlet Tut.by showed masked Belarusian riot police violently detaining at least 40 women who were thrown into vans as scuffles erupted in the city’s central Freedom Square.
A woman wears a T-shirt with a sign of an old Belarusian flag during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sept. 12, 2020.
Saturday’s protests were a precursor to a massive women’s rally expected on Sunday to protest police violence and allegations of electoral fraud. Some of the women protesters chanted “Bring back our Masha,” referring to Kolesnikova, while others beat saucepans.
Kolesnikova, who has been in a Minsk jail since Monday, has been accused of undermining national security as part of a criminal investigation against leaders of the Coordination Council, which was formed last month to negotiate a transition of power after President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term in office.
Opposition parties, the United States and the European Union allege the August 9 election was rigged.
Lukashenko, who denies the voting was fraudulent, accuses council members and activists of colluding with Western nations to try to create a parallel government.
Thousands of people have been detained over five weeks of protests triggered by the contested August 9 election. At least three people have been killed and hundreds hurt as police have aggressively dispersed peaceful protesters with rubber bullets, clubs and stun grenades.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said the U.S. and other countries are considering bringing sanctions against "those involved in human rights abuses and repression in Belarus."
Saturday’s protests were a precursor to a massive women’s rally expected on Sunday to protest police violence and allegations of electoral fraud. Some of the women protesters chanted “Bring back our Masha,” referring to Kolesnikova, while others beat saucepans.
Kolesnikova, who has been in a Minsk jail since Monday, has been accused of undermining national security as part of a criminal investigation against leaders of the Coordination Council, which was formed last month to negotiate a transition of power after President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term in office.
Opposition parties, the United States and the European Union allege the August 9 election was rigged.
Lukashenko, who denies the voting was fraudulent, accuses council members and activists of colluding with Western nations to try to create a parallel government.
Thousands of people have been detained over five weeks of protests triggered by the contested August 9 election. At least three people have been killed and hundreds hurt as police have aggressively dispersed peaceful protesters with rubber bullets, clubs and stun grenades.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said the U.S. and other countries are considering bringing sanctions against "those involved in human rights abuses and repression in Belarus."
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