MINSK, Belarus (AP) – The bespoeised Belarusian president attempted a force roll on Sunday, holding a demonstration with tens of thousands of supporters and refusing to repeat the vote that earned him a sixth term. But the parties to the conflict retaliated with a much larger demonstration that attracted up to 200,000 people.
Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the former Soviet republic of 9.5 million more people since 1994, criticized the West and told his crowd that the country would “perish as a state” if the elections resumed.
About 50,000 more people heard Lukashenko in a square near the main government building in the capital of Minsk. But as he spoke, crowds of supporters flocked to their own rally about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles). It’s the eighth day in a row of anti-government protests.
For 26 years in power, Lukashenko cracked down on opposition figures and independent media. But this year, the protesters are fed up with the decline in the country’s life and Lukashenko’s rejection of the coronavirus pandemic represented the biggest challenge to his reign.
The 65-year-old president said Sunday that Western powers were collecting army ensembles in countries along Belarus’s western borders and denounced the advice of some Western countries for Belarus to repeat the 90 august presidential vote, which opposition supporters say has given Lukashenko only one victory. . great fraud. The official effects mean he got 80% of the vote.
“If we set his example (and relaunch the elections), we will perish as a state,” Lukashenko said, a day after he pointed out that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed that Russia would send unspecified security aid to the former Soviet republic if Lukashenko asked.
NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu rejected the president’s troop meetings and tweeted that there is no NATO reinforcement in the region.
“NATO’s multinational presence in the eastern component of the Alliance poses no risk to any country,” Lungescu said. “It is strictly defensive, proportionate and designed to avoid confrontations and keep the peace.”
The Collective Treaty Organization for Security, an alliance of the army of six former Soviet states, adding to Belarus, said Sunday that it would take the resolution to provide assistance if Belarus requested it.
Thousands more were arrested during post-election protests, which police tried to crack down on with batons, rubber bullets and flash grenades. When many detainees were subsequently released, they showed large bruises that they believed were due to police beatings. Some protesters took pictures of people they enjoyed and said they had been beaten so violently that they may simply not attend.
While Lukashenko’s followers waited for him on Sunday, many chanted his nickname “Batka” or “father.”
They also chanted “Maidan will not take place,” referring to the months of protests in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014 that led then-President Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country. Shortly after Yanukovych’s departure, Putin annexed the entire Crimean peninsula to Ukraine, claiming extensive authorization from its Black Sea coast for Russia.
“Now everyone opposes Lukashenko and the president wants our support. Everyone has forgotten the clever things she’s done: there’s order in the country, we have no war or hunger,” said Tamara Yurshevich, a 35-year-old lawyer. .
As Lukashenko spoke, crowds of conflicting parties converged in a park about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles). Late in the afternoon, they flocked to the square evacuated by Lukashenko’s supporters.
Unlike the early days of the protests, when giant contingents of police and special forces opposed to demonstrators were deployed, police were virtually gone when opposition supporters entered the square. The demonstration ended peacefully about three hours later. There were no official figures on the length of the crowd, however, some reports estimated it at about 200,000 people.
The protesters were very happy with Sunday’s involvement and many felt they had momentum.
“The result of the election is in the streets and squares of Belarus, it is a sea of people who will never settle for living as before with Lukashenko,” said Feliks Zharikov, an engineer who came here with his wife and son.
“Suddenly, the temperament in society was replaced and everyone understood that Lukashenko had lost,” said Anna Trushevich, a biology professor at the university.
The European Union’s foreign ministers rejected the effects of the elections and on Friday began drawing up a list of Belarusian officials who could face sanctions. If Lukashenko resumed a serious crackdown, the West’s reaction could be even stronger.
But asking Russia for military aid is also dangerous. Although Russia and Belarus agreed in 1997 on a close union, Lukashenko claims that its giant neighbor aims to fully absorb Belarus. In the run-up to the election, Belarus arrested 33 Russian personnel army contractors who he said had been sent to destabilize the country.
On Sunday, a video posted on YouTube was intended to show the Belarusian ambassador to Slovakia, Igor Leshchenya, expressing “solidarity with those who took to the streets of Belarusian cities with non-violent marches so that their voices can be heard.”
The embassy may not be able to be contacted for comment, however, Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok said the video is legitimate. This would be the first indication of dissent in a high government office.
“We take note of the strength of the #Belarusian ambassador in Slovakia. This confirms our assessment of the existing scenario in #Belarus. This is a transparent sign of a senior Belarusian diplomat who bravely supports his fellow citizens,” he said on Twitter. .
___
Associate press editor Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this story.