Belarus: Over 200 women protestors detained in Minsk as unrest continues

On September 19, Minsk police cracked down on a women’s protest march in the capital as Belarus continues to roil with mass demonstrations for the sixth week. As per reports, the women protestors were demanding President Alexander Lukashenko' resignation when the police arrested more than 200 participants, included an elderly woman who has become a symbol of the Belarus protest.

Read: Belarus President Lukashenko Reiterates Russia's US Funding Theory To Disparage Protestors

Unrest in Belarus continues 

The Belarusian leader has served 26 years in office and was declared to have won the recent elections with 80% votes but protestors believe that the ballot was rigged. Both the European Union and the United States have called the Belarus elections neither free nor fair.

Human rights group Viasna is reported to have said that more than 200 people were arrested during the September 19 march. Viasna member Valentin Stepanovich said, “There were so many people detained that lines formed at the prisoner transports”. 

Lukashenko’s main opponent in the election, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, applauded the women protestors in a video statement and said, “They have frightened and put pressure on women for the second month, but despite this, Belarusians are continuing their peaceful protest and showing their amazing fortitude”.

Read: Belarus Borders Remain Open Despite President Lukashenko's Closure Threat

Tsikhanouskaya has been forced to flee the country after several threats to her life. Over the weeks of mass protests, women in Belarus were also seen forming ‘solidarity chains’ to condemn police brutality.

Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich has accused Belarusian authorities of terrorising their own people as she urged protestors to remain united in the face of adversity. Alexievich reportedly summoned her supporters to her home after another opposition figure, Maxim Znak, was detained by masked men in plain clothes in a round-up ordered by President Alexander Lukashenko.

Earlier on September 17, Lukashenko has announced that he was putting the army on high alert and closing the borders with Lithuania and Poland. According to the reports, Lukashenko said, “We are forced to withdraw troops from the streets, put the army on high alert and close the state border on the west, primarily with Lithuania and Poland”. However, the National Border Guard Service said all border checkpoints remained open even though controls and inspections were strengthened.

Read: Belarus President Lukashenko Brings Teenage Son To Frontline As Protests Intensify

Also Read: Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko Confirms Plan To Change Constitution: Kremlin

(Image Credits: AP)