Belarus crowds defy army to urge removal of Lukashenko

HUGE crowds of protesters yesterday flooded the Belarusian capital of Minsk, braving a massive deployment of forces to urge strongman Alexander Lukashenko to quit power.

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have taken to the streets over the past three weekends and yesterday’s event may have been larger still.

Troops, water cannon, armoured personnel carriers and armoured reconnaissance vehicles were deployed to the city centre but protesters from all walks of life rallied in a show of defiance. Authorities said at least 100 protesters were detained.

Unprecedented demonstrations broke out after Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-soviet state for 26 years, claimed re-election with 80 per cent of the vote on Aug 9.

Opposition rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya says she won the vote but Lukashenko’s security forces had detained thousands of protesters, many of whom accuse police of beatings and torture.

Several people have died in the crackdown. Buoyed by a show of support from Russia, Lukashenko has rejected calls for new elections.

Western countries fear a loud show of support for protesters could provoke a Russian military intervention at a moment when Europe is also weighing how to respond to the suspected poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition figure.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Lithuania’s foreign minister urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Belarus and counter Russia’s influence. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have imposed travel bans on Lukashenko and 29 other Belarusian officials without waiting for the rest of the EU to act.

Yesterday, the protesters marched towards Lukashenko’s residence at the Independence Palace where they chanted “Tribunal” and “How much are you getting paid?” Many say they will keep taking to the streets until he quits. Russia has said it will respond to any Western attempts to “sway the situation”. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, is keen to unify Russia and Belarus, and Moscow has accompanied its recent offers of military aid with calls for tighter integration.