A fraudulent election spurs nationwide protest, strikes in Belarus

August 15, 2020 8:41 AM

The 2020 Belarusian presidential election is widely viewed as fraudulent due to accusations of falsifications of ballot results.

Since the elections, Belarusians turned out en masse to protest and show no sign of stopping. Protesters have clashed with police and have recounted beatings after being released from jail. Belarus workers have gone on strike nationwide, from metro workers to oil refinery employees. At least 50 riot police have lowered their shields and joined the protesters. On Thursday, thousands of women dressed in white and carrying flowers turned out in the streets. The Belarus' deputy interior minister has pledged to release all protesters as the EU greenlights sanctions. The opposition leader, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, resurfaced on social media, to thank her supporters, after going into hiding in Lithuania, under pressure of authorities, and to say that she is ready to talk with the government under the auspices of international partners, and urged Belarusians to keep up the peaceful protests over the weekend.

posted by toastyk (12 comments total)

I wish them success in overturning this and pushing Lukashenko out of office. I'm readying myself to follow in their footsteps come November.
posted by jzb at 9:04 AM on August 15, 2020 [23 favorites]

Lukashenko reaching out to Putin for military intervention (and Putin offering it) is fair proof of election fraud, at this juncture.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:45 PM on August 15, 2020 [3 favorites]

Belarus today.
posted by toastyk at 4:32 PM on August 15, 2020

Oops, sorry, there was an original thread listing all the cities.
posted by toastyk at 4:33 PM on August 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

Mod note: Couple comments removed. Let's try and make this discussion focus specifically on the situation in Belarus vs. recentering it on parallels to the US.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:03 PM on August 15, 2020 [16 favorites]

Belarus election: How Nexta channel bypassed news blackout (Diana Kuryshko, BBC Ukrainian service, 2020-08-12)
posted by Not A Thing at 7:54 PM on August 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

Although I lack any competence to judge it, for those to whom it might be of interest, here is a direct link to the Nexta Live Telegram channel.
posted by Not A Thing at 8:05 PM on August 15, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've been following these accounts on Twitter and using Google Translate to parse what I'm seeing.

Franak Viačorka

BelTeaNews

Belsat in English

NEXTA TV (useful if you only want highlights from the NEXTA Telegram channel, which can be overwhelming)

Svaboda (the Belarusian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a US-funded media organization)

Hanna Liubakova

Euroradio
posted by mdonley at 12:19 AM on August 16, 2020 [4 favorites]

(Also check out @belarus_free on Instagram if you're over there.)
posted by mdonley at 1:16 AM on August 16, 2020 [1 favorite]

I found this compilation of reports, essays, etc very useful to keep updated. Full disclosure: i know some of the authors, hope this is ok in comments.
posted by 15L06 at 4:40 PM on August 16, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'm a regular reader of the Calvert Journal, and just came across these pieces:

‘We are tired of dictatorship. We are turning a new page.’ 5 Belarusian artists on fighting for their country’s future (August 14)

‘We’re outraged by the unprecedented brutality.’ Belarusian cultural figures denounce police violence in open letter (August 17)
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:23 PM on August 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

Belarus opposition sets up council; Lukashenko decries 'attempt to seize power'.

Everything is moving so fast.
posted by toastyk at 9:34 PM on August 18, 2020 [1 favorite]