The country's factories join the strike on the ninth day of protest against the results of the August 9 presidential election

Largest protest in Belarusian history puts Lukashenko in check

photo_camera AFP/NIKOLA PETROV - Alexander Lukashenko addresses workers at a Minsk tractor factory on 17 August

This Sunday Minsk was the scene of an unprecedented demonstration in the history of Belarus, where more than 200,000 people demanded the resignation of Lukashenko, in power since 1994, and the freedom of all political prisoners. Two deaths, almost three hundred injured and almost 7,000 arrested is the balance sheet of the police repression of these protests

On Monday morning, thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the MZKT and MTZ tractor factories in Minsk, as well as at the Belarusian state television headquarters, waving the red and white flag symbolising the opposition. Chanting several anti-government slogans, thousands of workers demanded an end to police violence, the release of those arrested in the demonstrations of the previous days, the holding of new elections in the country, and the punishment of those responsible for police repression.

Manifestación

"We do not forget, and we do not forgive", chanted the demonstrators gathered in front of the MZKT headquarters during the president's speech, as can be seen in video images broadcast by various Belarusian media. Several thousand employees of the MTZ factory, whose production is among the largest in the country, have stopped working according to statements made by the workers themselves to the AFP. 

While the president was at the factory, some of his workers, quoted by the opposition media Tut.by, complained that they were not allowed access to the premises where the Belarusian president was staying. They visited the VOLAT wheeled tractor plant in Minsk today, Monday, to say that, despite the strikes, the country's industry "has not stopped". "In general, the factories are working," he said, noting that the fact that some "150-200 people decided to go on strike means nothing," asserting that the factories were generally operating in the country despite calls to strike. "I'm answering you on this point: you can keep on shouting," said Lukashenko, adding that "Belarus has held elections and there will be no more" by minimising the scope of the protest movement. 

The European Union began work on Friday to impose sanctions on officials involved in the violence and falsification of election results which gave Lukashenko 80.1% of the vote according to official figures and which have been denounced as fraudulent by the opposition, according to the Efe news agency.  

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, has called an EU summit of leaders for Wednesday to discuss the situation in Belarus, he said on his Twitter account. The President of the European Council stressed that the "Belarusian people have the right to decide their future and freely choose their leader", while condemning as "unacceptable the violence against the demonstrators by the security forces". 

Opositora

In a brief statement, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called for an independent investigation by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) into the presidential elections. "The world has watched with horror the violence used by the Belarusian authorities to suppress the peaceful protests that followed this fraudulent presidential election," Raab said. The head of British diplomacy insisted that his country will work with its international partners to hold those responsible accountable for these actions. 

In response, Belarusian opposition presidential candidate Svetlana Tijanovskaya, currently in exile in Lithuania, offered to lead the normalisation process in Belarus and organise a "clean and transparent presidential election", as seen in a video broadcast on social networks on Monday. "I am ready to take responsibility and act in this period as a national leader, to calm down the country, to recover its normal rhythm, to release all political prisoners and to quickly prepare the regulations and conditions to hold a new presidential election", said the opponent.

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