Vast protest in Minsk keeps up pressure on Belarus president

More than 100,000 protesters demanding the resignation of Belarus’ authoritarian president rally in a vast square in the capital and later march through the city, keeping up the massive outburst of dissent that has shaken the country since a disputed presidential election two weeks ago.

Today’s demonstration overflows Minsk’s sprawling 7-hectare (17-acre) Independence Square. There are no official figures on crowd size, but it appears to be 150,000 people or more. The demonstrators then march to another square about 2.5 kilometers (1 1.2 miles) away.

Police make no immediate efforts to break up the gathering. Earlier this month, some 7,000 people were arrested, many of them beaten with clubs or wounded by rubber bullets, in the protests after the August 9 election that officials say handed President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office.

Protesters say the official election results, in which Lukashenko reportedly received 80% of the vote, are fraudulent.

The size and duration of the protests have been unprecedented for Belarus, a former Soviet republic of 9.5 million people that Lukashenko has ruled with an iron fist for 26 years.

— AP