10/19/20
Tens of thousands of people marched in Minsk and other cities in Belarus despite a threat from the Interior Ministry of the use of deadly force as protesters kept up their demand for the ouster of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka. Authorities deployed military trucks and water cannons in Minsk but police largely refrained from using them to quell the October 18 march. At least 200 people were arrested in Minsk, the Vyasna rights group reported. About 30 more were detained in regional cities, the group said. Interior Ministry spokeswoman Volha Chemodanova told AFP that members of law enforcement fired rubber bullets as a warning to protesters who threw stones at police. In the days leading up to the rally, Belarusian First Deputy Interior Minister Henadz Kazakevich threatened to use “lethal weapons if need be” on protesters to break up the demonstrations, which the authorities have called illegal. Kazakevich claimed that protesters had become "extremely radical." More than 12,000 Belarusians have been detained and hundreds tortured during protests over the ensuing weeks. However, the authorities have been unable to stamp out the movement and a stalemate has ensued. The protesters also called for Lukashenka’s arrest and chanted “Strike!” and “The workers are with the people.” Opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters have stepped up their pressure by setting October 25 as the date for Lukashenka to step down or face a nationwide strike.
Lukashenka has lost the support of many state workers, long considered his base, as the economy has struggled under his rule in recent years. In an interview with RFE/RL published on October 16, Tsikhanouskaya, who was forced to flee to Lithuania after the election, which her supporters and others say she won, said that the decision to announce the so-called "People’s Ultimatum" was not made solely by her, but by opposition groups, including her team, the opposition Coordination Council, opposition political parties, protest groups, representatives of striking workers, and Belarusian citizens who were beaten and tortured by law enforcement in recent months. “The ultimatum was pushed forward by people, I just announced it to make it public,” said Tsikhanouskaya, who could face up to five years in prison in Belarus if detained and found guilty. Tsikhanouskaya added that even “many” officers in law enforcement are seeking help from opposition groups to take their families out of Belarus in order to be able to openly refuse to take part in beatings and violently dispersing protest across the country.
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