Workers at some of Belarus’ largest manufacturing plants declared strikes in protest of violence from the security services, a sign that the demonstrations that have gripped the country since last Sunday’s contested election are continuing to swell.
. The security services have deployed heavily armed riot police and interior troops against the peaceful protesters each night, using stun grenades and rubber bullets indiscriminately. Hundreds of people have been injured and at least one killed since Sunday. Belarus’s authorities have acknowledged security forces opened fire with live ammunition on demonstrators in the town of Brest on Tuesday night, wounding one person.
People shout and hold signs protesting against police violence during rallies in opposition to President Alexander Lukashenko's re-election in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 13, 2020.The announcement of the factory strikes was a potentially significant development, signalling that the discontent in also shared among groups considered part of Lukashenko’s traditional base.
But many people in Belarus believe the real result is still very different and the protesters are demanding the election be held again. “The main difference now is that well again people protest across the country, everywhere, because everybody feels fed up,” Hanna Liubakova, a journalist based in Minsk said by phone on Wednesday.
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