Breaking News In Belarus!
Glenn Reynolds has the link to this story from Publius Pundit on Lukashenko's moves today.
He sent in the troops.
MINSK, Belarus - Police stormed the opposition tent camp in the Belarusian capital Minsk early Friday morning, detaining scores of demonstrators who had spent a fourth night in a central square to protest President Alexander Lukashenko’s victory in a disputed election.
The arrests came after a half dozen large police buses and 75 helmeted riot police with clubs pulled up to Oktyabrskaya Square in central Minsk about 3 a.m.
The police stood around for a few minutes and then barged into the tent camp filled with protesters.
An Associated Press reporter on the scene said they wrestled about 40 to 50 of the demonstrators, who were resisting, into buses. The rest of the approximately 200 demonstrators were taken into custody without apparent resistance.
By the end of the 10-15 minute operation, all of the protesters had been taken away. All that remained were their tents, kicked down amid the detentions, their gear and garbage.
Police had been detaining opposition supporters and would-be protesters away from the square, but Friday’s arrests marked the first time they had tried to forcefully eject the demonstrators en masse.
Their action followed opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich’s warning Thursday that increased persecution would only strengthen protests against the authoritarian government.
This is free? This is fair? I can hardly believe that. The world spoke up a couple days ago about this, and expressed distress over the election results. The EU made no bones about the win, and outrightly condemned it. President Bush joined that chorus. Even the election overseers stated the election was basically a fraud. Below is a report from Charter 97, a blog in Belarus.
Today at 3.30 a.m. hundreds of riot policemen and policemen have attacked tent camp on October Square in Minsk. At 3 a.m. 10 police buses and patrol wagons for prisoners encircled the square.
Policemen cordoned off the whole square. All reporter were drawn out of the cordons. Then several hundreds of people who were in the tent camp this bight were arrested. All of them where taken to the police buses and trucks, and taken to unknown location. Now only destroyed tents stay on the square. The life of the tent camp was trampled on by boots of policemen and police: national flags, posters, streamers, warm things, dishes. Everything is loaded to cars by street sweepers.
Information has been received from people from police trucks that some special means were employed against them. People complain that some gas was used inside one of the white trucks.
This is positively repugnant. The brutality used is reminiscent of Tianaman Square, only no deaths have been reported. This was, pure and simple, an act of aggression to the people of Belarus that Lukashenko will not tolerate this sort of behavior. The citizens have had their answer to them. He is not leaving. It is tiome for the people of Belarus to embrace the vision of the Ukranians, defy Lukashenko, and take to ther streets.
The Bunny ;)
Glenn Reynolds has the link to this story from Publius Pundit on Lukashenko's moves today.
He sent in the troops.
MINSK, Belarus - Police stormed the opposition tent camp in the Belarusian capital Minsk early Friday morning, detaining scores of demonstrators who had spent a fourth night in a central square to protest President Alexander Lukashenko’s victory in a disputed election.
The arrests came after a half dozen large police buses and 75 helmeted riot police with clubs pulled up to Oktyabrskaya Square in central Minsk about 3 a.m.
The police stood around for a few minutes and then barged into the tent camp filled with protesters.
An Associated Press reporter on the scene said they wrestled about 40 to 50 of the demonstrators, who were resisting, into buses. The rest of the approximately 200 demonstrators were taken into custody without apparent resistance.
By the end of the 10-15 minute operation, all of the protesters had been taken away. All that remained were their tents, kicked down amid the detentions, their gear and garbage.
Police had been detaining opposition supporters and would-be protesters away from the square, but Friday’s arrests marked the first time they had tried to forcefully eject the demonstrators en masse.
Their action followed opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich’s warning Thursday that increased persecution would only strengthen protests against the authoritarian government.
This is free? This is fair? I can hardly believe that. The world spoke up a couple days ago about this, and expressed distress over the election results. The EU made no bones about the win, and outrightly condemned it. President Bush joined that chorus. Even the election overseers stated the election was basically a fraud. Below is a report from Charter 97, a blog in Belarus.
Today at 3.30 a.m. hundreds of riot policemen and policemen have attacked tent camp on October Square in Minsk. At 3 a.m. 10 police buses and patrol wagons for prisoners encircled the square.
Policemen cordoned off the whole square. All reporter were drawn out of the cordons. Then several hundreds of people who were in the tent camp this bight were arrested. All of them where taken to the police buses and trucks, and taken to unknown location. Now only destroyed tents stay on the square. The life of the tent camp was trampled on by boots of policemen and police: national flags, posters, streamers, warm things, dishes. Everything is loaded to cars by street sweepers.
Information has been received from people from police trucks that some special means were employed against them. People complain that some gas was used inside one of the white trucks.
This is positively repugnant. The brutality used is reminiscent of Tianaman Square, only no deaths have been reported. This was, pure and simple, an act of aggression to the people of Belarus that Lukashenko will not tolerate this sort of behavior. The citizens have had their answer to them. He is not leaving. It is tiome for the people of Belarus to embrace the vision of the Ukranians, defy Lukashenko, and take to ther streets.
The Bunny ;)
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 12:58 AM
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