Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
After lakhs take to the streets to demand the departure of long-term President Alexander Lukashenko on the weekend, fresh strikes may erupt now in Belarus.
Opposition leaders called for the strikes as anger grows over reports of police violence as well as alleged poll-rigging in the 9 August vote. But the president, who claimed a landslide victory, remains defiant. He called on supporters to defend their country and independence.
The wave of anger has been rising since the Central Election Commission said Mr Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, won 80.1% of the vote and the main opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya 10.12%.
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Tikhanovskaya insists that where votes were properly counted, she won support ranging from 60% to 70%. She left for the country after she publicly denounced the results, joining her children in Lithuania.
Meanwhile, some 6,700 people have been arrested in the wake of the election, and many have spoken of torture at the hands of the security services.
Workers at state-run factories walked out in solidarity with the protesters last week, and more strikes are planned for this week, increasing the pressure on Lukashenko.
Rival rallies were held in the capital, with local media reports suggesting that around 31,000 people took part in the pro-government event on Sunday. The Ministry of Internal Affairs estimated that the number was around 65,000, while a reporter for the AFP news agency said the figure was closer to 10,000.
There were reports of state sector workers being forced to attend or face the threat of losing their jobs. For days, workers at state-run factories have staged walkouts and many have joined street marches against the president.
