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In pictures: “Silent” anti-government protest staged in Minsk

 

Hundreds of people participated in a so-called silent protest that took place at the center of Minsk on Wednesday evening in the framework of an anti-government campaign called “Revolution through Social Networks.”

The participants, mostly young people, heeded a call by the organizers of an online campaign called "Revolution through Social Networks," who urged people to come to the central squares of their localities every Wednesday to express discontent with Alyaksandr Lukashenka`s rule.

As Kastrychnitskaya Square, the original venue of "silent" protests in Minsk, was expectedly sealed off by police, participants assembled in groups around the venue under the watch of riot police and plainclothesmen.
The groups then moved in different directions away from the square, occasionally clapping their hands. Some chanted "SHOS" (the abbreviation of ‘I hope he dies’).

Many arrests were made as police cracked down on a group that reached Yanka Kupala Street. Protesters were bundled into three police buses.

The largest group, which consisted of around 500 people, walked from a McDonald`s restaurant on Independence Avenue to Hotel Yubileynaya on Paramozhtsaw Avenue. As they reached the hotel, several police buses arrived at the scene, with officers jumping out and starting to randomly grab some participants from the crowd. As the crowd began moving back to the city center, arrests continued and protesters started dispersing. However, some crossed the road and gathered near the Palace of Sports. Some were arrested there as well.

The campaign organizers urged the protesters to disperse through the Internet at 7:55 p.m. //BelaPAN