Thousands of interior troops' soldiers were brought to Minsk on March 25. On the day when the country was celebrating the anniversary of proclamation of the Belarusian National Republic, the authorities in fact imposed a state of emergency in the capital.
On March 25 Belarus marked the 91st anniversary of the Belarusian National Republic , the event that led to the establishment of independent Belarus. Organizers of the action, the BPF party, applied for holding a rally between the Academy of Sciences and the October Square. The Minsk authorities permitted the participants to gather in front of the Academy of Sciences and traditionally permitted a march not to the city centre, but to Banhalor square, a bedroom district. The action organizers stated that the authorities' decision to prohibit a peaceful demonstration marking the national holiday was unlawful and the people would choose where they want to go.
Oppositionists were preventively arrested ahead of the action. The regional militia and traffic police officers detained youth activists, traveling to Minsk for the March 25 demonstration. Apartments of activists of civil campaign “European Belarus” and “Young Front” were searched before and during the demonstration. Youth activists were detained an hour before the rally; militiamen were seizing them in streets, beating them, taking away their banners and leaflets.
Nevertheless, several thousand people gathered near the Academy of Sciences at 6.00 p.m. A large number of national and EU flags created an atmosphere of a holiday. In addition to flags, residents of Minsk brought red and white balloons and flowers. Many people came with their families and children.
Leader of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Andrei Sannikau, former chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus Stanislau Shushkevich, BPF party leaders Lyavon Barshcheuski, Viktar Ivashkevich, and Vintsuk Vyachorka, coordinator of Charter’97 Zmitser Bandarenka, leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka, leader of the Social Democratic Party (Narodnaya Hramada) Mikola Statkevich, activists of the civil campaign “European Belarus” Zmitser Barodka, Yauhen Afnahel, Paval Yukhnevich, co-head of the organizing committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy Paval Sevyarynets, leader of the "For Freedom" movement Alyaksandr Milinkevich, leader of the “Young Front” Zmitser Dashkevich, leader of the “Young Belarus” Artur Finkevich, People’s Artist of Belarus Zinaida Bandarenka, deputy head of the United Civil Party Lyudmila Hraznova, Belarus’ National Poet Henadz Buraukin, popular playwright Uladzimir Khalip, and other well-known people took part in the demonstration.
Demonstrators were holding huge white-red-white cloth sheets, streamers with words “European Belarus!”, “Freedom to political prisoners”, “Belarus to Europe!” Slogans “Long live Belarus!” and “Independence!” were heard throughout.
A brief meeting was held in front of the Academy of Sciences. Speakers (opposition leaders, intellectuals, youth leaders) congratulated Belarusians on Freedom Day, expressing confidence that sooner or later the day would be celebrated as a state holiday.
Finally the BPF deputy chairman Viktar Ivashkevich called on the participants of the action to form a human chain along Independence Avenue holding flags and banners and stand there for an hour, reminding people of the Freedom Day and the political prisoners.
A portion of the crowd formed a human chain on advice of Viktar Ivashkevich. But a column of 500 young people moved to October square shouting “Independence!”, “No to Union with Imperial Russia!”, “Freedom to Political Prisoners!” The column consisted of activists of the civil campaign “European Belarus”, “Young Front”, and “Young Belarus”.
The young oppositionists managed to walk only 100 meters when their way was blocked by hundreds of riot militiamen armed with batons at intersection of Independence Avenue and Brouka Street. A hundred of riot militiamen formed columns on both sides of the avenue.
Then youth leaders Yauhen Afnagel and Artur Finkevich urged the demonstrators to refuse to be drawn in authorities’ provocations. In their words the actions of law enforcers against peaceful demonstrators showed the real face of “liberalization” declared by the Belarusian regime.
The rally lasted about an hour longer. People were standing on the avenue’s border with flags and streamers, chanting “Long live Belarus!”; the cars passing by honked in support, some people joined the chain.
When the rally ended in about an hour, buses and trucks filled with internal troops' soldiers started coming from the streets near Independence Avenue. 44 buses and trucks of troops came from the Hikala street alone, near Yakub Kolas square!
Thus — several thousand soldiers were dispatched against Belarusians celebrating their national holiday…
This article appeared in
Belarusian Review, Vol. 21, No. 2
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4 july 2009
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Source: Charter 97 Press Center, March 25, 2009