Action “Alyaksandr, Go Away!” in Minsk (Photo, video)

25.11.2010, 11:48

A street action under the slogan “Go Away!” timed to an anniversary of the 1996 referendum was held in Minsk on November 24.

The street action on October Square in Minsk was conducted in protest against Alyaksandr Lukasehnka’s running in the scheduled presidential election and was dedicated to the initiated by him constitutional referendum in 1996.

Riot police officers arrived at the place of the meeting two hours before the beginning of the action. According to Radio Svaboda, more than two thousand people gathered on October Square. Among those who came were Belarusian presidential candidates Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu, Mikalai Statkevich, Vital Rymasheuski, as well as Young Front leader Zmitser Dashkevich and BCD head Paval Sevyarynets.

People raised hundreds of national white-red-white flags and shouted “Long live Belarus!”, “We believe, we can, we win!”, “Lukashenka, go away!”

The politicians spoke to the crowd. Young Front leader Zmitser Dashkevich said: “Today is the anniversary of the day when Lukashenka rigged the referendum results, changed the constitutional order thus choosing the way of lawlessness.”

“The people of Belarus haven’t forgotten about this crime. Those who are guilty will be punished,” Dashkevich said. He called on Lukashenka to resign on his own will and said the meeting was the final warning for the incumbent head of state.

Mikalai Styatkevich, the leader of the Belarusian Social Party (Narodnaya Hramada), read out the resolution of the meeting made as an address to Lidziya Yarmoshyna. The participants of the meeting demand to include representatives of each candidate to every election commission. They must have the right to sign the final protocol. The demonstrators also called to cancel early voting and allow it only for those who will be abroad on December 19. They also demanded that the ballot should be counted in public and every ballot should be shown to observers.

Statkevich expressed his readiness to hand in the statement to the Central Election Commission and called on the demonstrators to follow him.

The column marched to the headquarters of the Central Election Commission on Independence Square. Participants at the head of the column carried a banner “Alyaksandr, go away!”

Nobody was allowed in the CEC headquarters. As the demonstrators were told, there wasn’t anyone at workplaces.