President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko instructed the country’s law enforcement agencies to prevent the implementation of the idea of organizing a human chain of protesters and not indifferent from Vilnius to Kiev. This was reported by BelTa on August 15.
Lukashenko noted that he discussed this issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he reached an agreement to interact in order to prevent such a development of events.
He instructed the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB, as well as the Prosecutor General of the Republic to assess this issue. In addition, the head of state called on the departments to prevent such actions.
The President clarified that he went through a similar experience after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Then there was an attempt to create the Baltic-Black Sea region – a sanitary zone represented by the three Baltic states, Belarus and Ukraine, in order to separate Russia from the West.
“And all would be fine, but we do not want to be a latrine and someone to sanitize, to be a cordon sanitaire. And we understand what this can lead to, ”Lukashenka said.
A similar chain of not indifferent people was already built on the territory of the Baltic countries in 1989. The inhabitants of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia built a human chain about 670 km long (up to two million people, that is, about 25% of the population of the three Baltic republics at that time), thus connecting Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. The action was timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on the distribution of the zones of influence of the USSR and Germany in Eastern Europe.
Earlier on Saturday, August 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko discussed the situation in the Republic of Belarus during a telephone conversation. Both sides expressed confidence in an early resolution of the problems.
On the eve of the opposition presidential candidate of Belarus Svetlana Tikhanovskaya announced that she was initiating the creation of a coordinating council to ensure the transfer of power, and asked European countries to help in organizing a dialogue with the Belarusian government.
Mass protests in Belarus began on August 9 after citizens refused to recognize the official election results. The people who took to the streets faced opposition from the security forces, there were injuries on both sides, one civilian was killed.
After brutal attacks by security officials on peaceful protesters, a number of Belarusian enterprises went on strike demanding the cancellation of the voting results.
EU countries announced the introduction of personal sanctions against Belarus due to human rights violations.
A wave of unrest swept across Belarus after the August 9 presidential elections, which were again won by Alexander Lukashenko
Photo: Getty Images
The largest scale of protests was in Minsk
Photo: Getty Images
Protesters, mostly young people, took to the streets three nights in a row
Photo: RIA Novosti / Victor Tolochko
The police used water cannons, tear gas and, according to some sources, rubber bullets to disperse the demonstrators
Photo: RIA Novosti / Victor Tolochko
There are victims from both the demonstrators and the security forces. At least one person known to have died
Photo: REUTERS
In addition to other special equipment, the police also used flash-noise grenades.
Photo: RIA Novosti / Victor Tolochko
On August 12, Belarusian state television reported on the detention of riot coordinators
Photo: RIA Novosti / Victor Tolochko
Protesters in some areas pelted police with Molotov cocktails
Photo: RIA Novosti / Victor Tolochko
In some districts of Minsk, young people began to build barricades from garbage containers and other scrap materials
Photo: REUTERS
EU countries expressed dissatisfaction with the “suppression of civil rights and freedoms” by the law enforcement agencies of Belarus
Photo: RIA Novosti / Victor Tolochko
A large number of wounded are reported in Minsk hospitals. The exact number of victims is unknown
Photo: RIA Novosti / Victor Tolochko
The special forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic were used to disperse the protesters
Photo: RIA Novosti / Ilya Pitalev
Opposition main candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya left the country and recorded a video message calling for an end to the protests
Photo: RIA Novosti / Ilya Pitalev
Accusations of violence against journalists covering the situation sounded against the Belarusian security officials
Photo: REUTERS
According to eyewitnesses, on the third night of the riots, the instigators were detained in the courtyards and entrances of houses
Photo: REUTERS