Minsk “Maidan” was kicked back and dispersed
The protests on Tuesday evening in Minsk showed the weakness and disorganization of the Belarusian opposition, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
For some reason the actions were spontaneous. People were gathered through social networks in a few hours. But today’s refusal of the Belarusian Central Election Commission to register presidential candidates alternative to Alexander Lukashenko cannot be considered a surprise. This is what it was all about.
At the same time, the authorities were ready for protests. Minsk was filled with police paddy wagons, and internal troops were deployed.
Anonymous telegram channels exclaimed about the “special atmosphere”, but could not convey it. Popular and professional operators were careful not to come close to the protesters so as not to fall into the hands of riot police.
There were no broadcasts on the Internet. Belarusian special officers technically neutralized all pro-Western and Western journalists broadcasting live: Radio Liberty, Belsat, European Radio.
There were clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers, but mostly they preferred to run away.
Human rights activists report 70 detainees. This is approximately 1% of the total number of protesters. In general, there are slightly more of them than at the winter festivities approved by the authorities against integration with Russia.
“The logic of power is simple. The protest wave is spreading in a thin layer throughout the summer. Some were cooled down in May-June through crackdowns and arrests of Tikhanovsky’s associates, some want to be cooled down in July through the non-registration of Babariko and Tsepkalo, and the rest - in August using understandable measures. It’s easier for the authorities than if everyone were allowed to accumulate hopes for one day, then they were shown 80, and faced with the culmination of all this energy in one day. Now some will go into depression or boycott, some will go to the polling stations, some to the square. Divide and rule. The recipe is thousands of years old,” opposition columnist Artem Shraibman commented on the situation on his Telegram channel.
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