The Belarusian opposition, which gathered a record number of people in the center of Minsk today, did not consolidate its success. There was no stage or tent city on Independence Square, as in Kyiv in 2004 and 2013. There were no attempts to storm government buildings.
The opposition media only proudly recorded that the rally participants cleaned up the trash after themselves.
There was no rally as such either. Only the head of the headquarters of failed presidential candidate Viktor Babariko, who is in jail, Maria Kolesnikova, addressed the audience.
“We will not forget and we will not forgive. Tomorrow we will submit an application to initiate a criminal case into the death of civilians, abuse of people, and illegal actions of law enforcement agencies. Everyone who used violence against demonstrators and peaceful Belarusians must be held accountable in accordance with the law of the Republic of Belarus. We demand the release of all political prisoners. Dozens of political prisoners and 4 thousand people who still remain in prison (those detained during the protests - ed.), must be free immediately.
Our main demand is that the former president must resign. You and I are one free nation. We are a strong free people. There have never been so many of us in our lives. Thank you for taking this step towards freedom. Belarus will never be the same,” Kolesnikova said.
According to the Tut.by agency, after the rally ended, people returning from the rally were detained in the residential areas of Minsk.