Members of the Belarusian opposition have held an unsanctioned rally in Minsk today. About three thousand demonstrators pored into Freedom Square where they were met by nearly one thousand members of the Belarusian security service, Radio Free Europe’s Belarusian service is reporting.
Leading opposition candidate Aleksandr Millinkevich addressed the crowd calling for freedom and justice while supporters chanted “Long Live Belarus!” and “Freedom!”
Earlier in the day another opposition candidate Aleksandr Kozulin was arrested while trying to gain access to the All-Belarusian Assembly, where earlier President Lukashenko had given a three hour speech in which he lambasted the West for interfering in Belarus’ internal affairs. Kozulin was later released.
Information coming out of the country is sketchy at best. Opposition news portals and websites have been blocked. This includes the Charter 97 and Zubr websites. In addition telephone service in the country has been blocked in many cases and information is only coming via SMS.
A Poglyad member in Ukraine informed that the borders have been closed. This situation has yet to be confirmed elsewhere, however. In addition leaders from the Ukrainian citizens' party "Pora" along with six journalists were detained by the KGB and then denied entrance to the country after they had arrived at the Minsk 2 airport. The delegation had traveled to Minsk to observe the situation in the run up to the elections.
The planned rally on Freedom Square in Minsk with opposition candidate Alexandr Millinkevich was supposed to have begun at 18:00 Belarusian time. The latest information coming from Minsk confirms that Millinkevich arrived and marched with demonstrators to the House of Physical Culture where he addressed supporters. Riot police arrived in trucks and dispersed the rally shortly after it began.
A source in Minsk has informed that there is an increased police and military presence in the capitol. Interestingly, more than half the demonstrators are aged forty and over. Opposition rallies normally draw young activists. One elderly woman interviewed said frankly, “we are very tired of him [Lukashenko] and we must live happily like in Europe.”