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| The Guardian |
Over 100,000 people protested in Minsk on Sunday - estimated the independent Belarusian portal tut.by. Other independent media said it could be close to a quarter of a million.
The authorities used the loudspeakers of the city's alarm system on the central Independence Square in Minsk, loud music were used in an attempt to drown out the protesters, and the voice of a representative of the Interior Ministry of Internal urged them to disperse.
All of that was for nothing, it was impossible to drown out the crowd of thousands who chanted "get out!" (uchodzi!) to Alexander Lukashenka, who is ruling since 1994 when, ironically, he was democratically (more or less) elected to the office.The morning programs on all government radio stations, where the government threatened with criminal liability for "participation in illegal protests", did not help either.
The Ministry of Defense also issued a statement: “We cannot look calmly at the flags, under which the fascists committed mass murders of Belarusians, Russians, Jews and other nationalities, flying over sacred sites. We cannot let that happen!." (...) "In case of violation of order and peace in these places - you will be dealing not with the militia (police), but with the army." Military units, in full gear including bullet proof vest and automatic rifles, were seen near the protest sites in major cities.
Yesterday, Lukashenka was seen getting out of his helicopter with an automatic rifle (AK-47) in his hands,
This morning, Monday, the ambassador of Belarus in Vilnius, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania and handed a protest note regarding the breach of the Lithuanian border on Sunday by a Belarusian helicopter.
