Tens of thousands rally against Belarus president as Minsk warns of ‘chaos, anarchy’

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Belarus for a seventh consecutive weekend to demand President Alexander Lukashenko's resignation, accusing him of being reelected in a rigged presidential vote last month.

Belarus is in turmoil since Lukashenko won the August 9 presidential election, with the opposition rejecting the official results and alleging voter fraud. The US and the EU, in particular, have repeated the allegation, rejecting Lukashenko’s re-election.

Anti-government protest rallies have been held in the country ever since and reports say hundreds have been arrested. Minsk has strongly rejected allegations of vote-rigging, with Lukashenko saying that Western governments are seeking to destabilize the ex-Soviet state.

On Sunday, anti-government protesters rallied in capital Minsk and other cities decked out in red-and-white opposition colors, calling on the 66-year-old president to resign.

Some dubbed the protest a “people’s inauguration” of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Lukashenko’s main opponent who fled into exile after the Aug. 9 election.

Since the announcement of the results of the disputed election, some 100,000 protesters have reportedly held protest rallies every weekend. An AFP correspondent estimated a similar turnout across the country on Sunday across the country.  

Police fired tear gas canisters to break up the crowds of “disobedient” protesters in the eastern city of Gomel, the Russian agency TASS reported.

According to human rights activists, at least 53 people were arrested.

The government typically releases the total number of protesters arrested on the day after a rally. The interior ministry said earlier on Sunday that police had detained 150 people during protests on Saturday.

However, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Olga Chemodanova said that “around 200” people had been arrested across Belarus.

Separately on Saturday, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said that Western countries were preparing to impose new sanctions on Minsk, lambasting them for attempting to sow “chaos and anarchy” in Belarus.

The European Union has compiled a list of around 40 individuals it wants to target with sanctions, claiming that they have had roles in alleged vote-rigging and a purported crackdown on anti-government protests. The US has prepared its own sanctions against Minsk.

Belarus pres. downplays West's rejection of his inauguration, says never asked for their recognition

The Belarusian president says Minsk has not asked the West to recognize the legitimacy of the re-elected president.

On Thursday, Lukashenko said he did not care about the Western countries’ rejection of his vote.

“They're shouting that they don't recognize us,” he said at a meeting with Chinese Ambassador Cui Qirning. “We never asked anyone to recognize or not recognize our elections, or to recognize the legitimacy of the re-elected president or not,” he said.

His remarks came a day after he was sworn into his sixth consecutive term in a ceremony in the capital city, Minsk, despite the threats of sanctions.

Lukashenko has served as president of Belarus since the establishment of the office 26 years ago, on July 20, 1994.

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