Belarusian Women Crown Themselves on "Inauguration" Day

Photographic report.

On September 23th an unannounced "inauguration" of Lukashenka took place. After the ceremony and until late at night Minsk and other cities had many people on streets to protest against Lukashenka's farther presidency.

The journalists talked to the protesters, who "crowned" themselves as a mark of protest, Belsat reports.

Elena: Everyone in this country can crown oneself, so we decided to do the same.

Marina: This is a girl's flash mob; we are all queens. And we decided to crown ourselves, as it can be done secretly.

Olga: On Wednesdays, we walk with umbrellas in hands. But today we have a royal walk. We show that every Belarusian man and woman has human dignity. We are kings and queens in this country.

Human rights center Viasna reports the detention of more than 250 people all over the country. According to human rights activists and witnesses, law enforcers acted with extreme brutality. Detentions on September 23 are already compared to those of August 9-11, when detained demonstrators were subject to beatings and torture.