BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/03/2007

Belarusian Opposition Stages 'Freedom Day' Rally Amid Heavy Security

Some 10,000 people turned up for an opposition-staged rally in Minsk on March 25, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported. The rally was intended to mark the anniversary of short-lived Belarusian People's Republic of 1918, the first independent Belarusian state, which was crushed by the Bolsheviks. Police forces, who were present on the streets in huge numbers, prevented demonstrators from gathering on October Square in downtown Minsk and redirected the march in three separate columns to the Academy of Sciences, where participants were addressed by former opposition presidential candidate Alyaksandr Milinkevich. Police scuffled with demonstrators, but no injuries or arrests were reported. Several dozen people were reportedly detained while coming to the rally and released after it ended. More than 30 opposition activists were arrested and/or jailed in Belarus last week in what was widely seen as a preventive measure before the March 25 demonstration. JM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/03/3-CEE/cee-260307.asp