Belarusian protests continue (05/19/96)

Belarusian protests continue

MIENSK/BIALYSTOK, Poland - Opposition to the authoritarian government of Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka showed no signs of abating as new protests erupted within Belarus and in neighboring Poland.

OMRI Daily Digest reported on May 15 that some 5,000 demonstrators marched through the streets of the Belarusian capital the previous day, demanding the release of two activists facing charges over the April 26 Chornobyl commemoration-turned protest against Mr. Lukashenka, in which over 200 demonstrators were arrested and dozens were beaten by OMON and Interior Ministry riot troops. Belarusian Popular Front leaders Yuriy Khadyka and Vyachaslau Siuchyk have been on a hunger strike since their arrest 17 days ago.

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights also issued a statement asking for their release, said the OMRI report. It noted that they could be jailed for up to three years and that the legal process so far "gives little hope that the trial will be fair and open."

The demonstrators shouted in front of Mr. Lukashenka's residence until he departed by car. They then moved toward the Parliament building but dispersed quietly after being stopped by a police cordon.

The following day, over 1,000 people demonstrated outside the Belarusian Consulate in the northeastern Polish town of Bialystok, Agence France Presse reported. The protesters handed the Belarusian Consul a letter opposing the detention and expulsion of four Solidarity members by Belarusian security forces.

The labor delegation had been in Belarus at the invitation of the Belarusian Independent Association of Trade Unions, which opposes Mr. Lukashenka's policies. Belarusian authorities claimed the delegation had organized an illegal demonstration in Miensk.

Meanwhile, the Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions said it lodged a complaint with the International Labor Organization against Belarus, Rzeczpospolita reported on May 16.

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