Student solidarity rallies and a women's peace march are taking place simultaneously in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus.
Read alsoBelarus protests: Students take to streets in Minsk on Sept 1 (Photo, video)A number of Belarusian Telegram channels, namely NEXTA Live, Onliner and Nasha Niva reported on the events on Saturday, September 5.
First, several hundred students gathered in downtown Minsk. University teaches joined them as well.
The activists arranged in columns and moved along the central streets of the city, shouting slogans and holding white-red-white flags. Some protesters were singing the anthem Kupalinka (Belarusian folk song).
Then the first detentions of protests began.
About 4,000 women took part in the march, which stated at about 15:00. They also marched through the capital of Belarus, holding white-red-white flags and official state flags of Belarus.
The women call on the authorities to bring to justice those responsible for the violence against participants in the rallies to protest over the fraudulent presidential election.
New protests were sparked, in particular, by yesterday's detention of students of the Minsk State Linguistic University (MSLU), when riot police officers broke into the hall of the building, while the MSLU administrative personnel just watched what was happening.
Earlier, Blarusian students took to the streets of Minsk on Knowledge Day, September 1, to demand that political prisoners be released from custody and fair elections be held in the country.
Belarus protests: background
- On August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus. The country's Central Election Commission announced the final election results. In particular, 80.1% of voters supported incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko, 10.1% voted for Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, 1.67% for Anna Kanopatskaya, 1.2% for Andrey Dmitriev, and 1.14% for Sergei Cherechnya. Some 4.59% voted against all candidates.
- Thousands took to the streets to protest what many believe was a rigged vote count. Riot police violently cracked down on protesters.
- Belarus' Ministry of Internal Affairs said about 7,000 protesters had been detained in different cities since August 9. On the evening of August 13, the authorities started to release detainees.
- On August 14, the European Union announced it did not recognize the outcome of the presidential elections in Belarus.
- The March of Freedom, the largest protest in the history of Belarus, took place on August 16 in Minsk. Hundreds of thousands of people joined in.
- On August 20, the Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal probe into the attempt by the opposition to "seize power."
- Lukashenko has repeatedly claimed "foreign interference" in the election and the external efforts to foment protests. He spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin who had promised him comprehensive assistance upon request.
- Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin has warned of the possible use of army to disperse protesters rallying under the flags he claims were once used by Nazi troops.
- Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said it was freezing all contacts with Belarus amid the moves and statements by the Belarusian side.
