Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – The Belarusian government arrested about 500 more people in weekend protests opposing the country’s authoritarian president, who claimed a sixth term in an election widely regarded as manipulated.
Belarus’s internal ministry said Monday that protesters were arrested on Saturday and more than 350 on Sunday, when protests against the government spread in 22 cities. Daily rallies have rocked Belarus for more than seven weeks, with the largest gathering of up to 200,000 people, in the biggest challenge to date for President Alexander Lukashenko’s long uncompromising reign.
Some 100,000 protesters marched in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Sunday, it was not easy to resign Lukashenko, who seriously suppressed the opposition and independent 26-year-old media in power.
According to the human rights organization Viasna, the repression of protesters over the weekend was not as violent as it used to be.
“Repressions remain blocked when more than 100,000 people take to the streets,” said Ales Bialiatski, viasna’s director. “The government’s concern tactics no longer work. “
Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians have manifested themselves since the presidential elections of 9 August, which authorities said gave Lukashenko, a former administrator of a 66-year-old state farm, a victory with 80% of the vote.
Opposition members and some election officials say the vote was rigged, and the United States and the European Union have condemned elections as neither lax nor fair. Many European countries have refused to recognize Lukashenko as the valid leader after his unforeseen opening last week.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in Lithuania that he will meet on Tuesday with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, lukashenko’s opponent of the election who went into exile in the country after the election.
Macron also said it is vital for France to “recommit to Russia,” while acknowledging that the prospect of a discussion with Moscow is a sensitive issue, especially in the Baltic countries. Russia and Belarus are allies, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has identified Lukashenko as the valid leader of Belarus.
In the early days after the election, police used tear gas, canes and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Some protesters were killed, many injured and nearly 7,000 arrested. Amid foreign outrage over the violent crackdown on protests, the Belarusian government is the main activists.
The Belarusian government has opened a criminal investigation into members of the Coordination Council, created through opposition to drive a non-violent transition of power, for undermining national security. Many members have been arrested or forced to leave the country.
On Monday, Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature and the only member of the board’s executive chair still undecided in Belarus, left for Germany. The council told The Associated Press that Alexievich would spend a month in Germany and get medical treatment, then plan to travel to Italy and return to Belarus.
The council also reported Monday that the fitness of Maxim Znak, another council member who was imprisoned this month and has been on hunger strike since September 18, has deteriorated dramatically.
He suggested to the government Znak to offer him “quality medical treatment” and suggested Znak himself avoid the strike.
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Daria Litvinova in Moscow and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed to this report.