BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

25/03/2007

Belarus opposition rallies amid heavy security

by Karim Talbi Sun Mar 25, 6:08 AM ET

MINSK (AFP) - Hundreds of opposition activists staged a rally amid heavy security in the Belarus capital Sunday against President Alexander Lukashenko and to mark a year since unprecedented protests.

Hundreds of police, special forces officers and paratroopers closed off access to Oktyabrskaya Square in central Minsk, where activists held a four-day rally after authoritarian Lukashenko's controversial re-election in 2006.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994 and is dubbed "Europe's last dictator" in some Western capitals, allows no criticism in the state-controlled media and has imposed severe restrictions on opposition demonstrations.

An AFP reporter saw around a dozen buses for security forces and several prison vans parked in a corner of the square, as well as a column of military personnel vehicles moving towards the centre.

Protesters, grouped on a side street, told AFP they would try to enter the vast square, even though they have been allotted a smaller square on the city outskirts for their rally by the authorities.

The opposition has also accused Belarussian authorities of making a series of pre-emptive arrests over the past few days, with nearly 50 activists put behind bars in a bid to cripple Sunday's demonstration.

Vyacheslav Sivchik, an organiser of last year's demonstration, in which several hundred protesters set up a tent camp on Oktyabrskaya Square before being arrested en masse, was seized by police on Saturday.

Police officials could not be contacted to confirm these reports.

The US government voiced concern on Friday about the arrests, calling on Belarus to stop "harassing" the opposition in this isolated former Soviet state.

"The United States is deeply concerned about ongoing intimidation by the authorities... in advance of a planned peaceful demonstration in Minsk on March 25," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.

"We urge the government of Belarus to allow its citizens to exercise their right to assemble peacefully and express their views without harassment or interference," McCormack said.

Belarussian authorities have organised open-air concerts on Sunday in an apparent attempt to undermine the protests, as part of celebrations for the anniversary of the country's fragile independence, declared in 1918.

Sunday's demonstration is seen by analysts as a test of the opposition's ability to sustain its momentum and overcome internal divisions and rivalries.

Belarussian opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich was expected to address the rally. Another Lukashenko opponent, Alexander Kozulin, is serving a five-and-a-half year prison sentence for organising a protest last year.

Source:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070325/wl_afp/belaruspolitics_070325100842