Tens of thousands of Belarusian opposition supporters gathered for the largest protest rally in recent history in Minsk as President Alexander Lukashenko rejected calls to step down in a defiant speech.
Crowds of protesters marched through the streets to the central Independence Square on Sunday, with an AFP journalist estimating the turnout at more than 100,0000, a scale of protest not seen since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Belarusian independent news site Tut.by called the rally "the largest in the history of independent Belarus".
Columns of demonstrators raised victory signs and held flowers and balloons as a sea of protesters gathered in Independence Square, the focus of peaceful demonstrations in recent days.
"Now we're changing history," said 26-year-old Yekaterina Gorbina, a content manager.
"Blood was spilled and the people will never forget that."
Darya Kukhta, 39, a mother of six, told AFP: "We believe that a new Belarus is beginning. I'm very happy to be seeing this with my own eyes."
Demonstrators held placards with slogans such as "You can't wash off the blood" and "Lukashenko must answer for the torture and dead".
Popular opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had called for a weekend of protests after leaving for neighbouring Lithuania following the disputed election, which gave Lukashenko 80 percent of the vote.
Other major towns and cities in the ex-Soviet country of nine million also saw large rallies, local media reported.
More and more Belarusians have taken to the streets over the last week to condemn Lukashenko's disputed victory and a subsequent violent crackdown by riot police and abuse of detainees.
Unusually, tightly controlled state television news aired a short item on the "alternative protest" in Minsk, while not showing anti-Lukashenko slogans.
Outside Belarus, hundreds of Czechs and Belarusians, some holding the traditional red and white Belarusian flag and portraits of Tikhanovskaya, gathered in Prague's historic centre Sunday in support of the protests.
There were also smaller shows of support in Romania and Poland, AFP journalists said.
- 'Defend your country!' -
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, is facing an unprecedented challenge to his leadership.
The 65-year-old strongman held a rare campaign-style rally on Independence Square before the opposition protest.
He told flag-waving supporters: "I called you here not to defend me... but for the first time in a quarter-century, to defend your country and its independence."
State television said 65,000 people attended the rally, though an AFP reporter put the number closer to 10,000.
"The elections were valid," Lukashenko said in a sometimes emotional speech.
"We won't give away the country!" he vowed.
- Kremlin 'ready' to help -
With pressure growing from the street and abroad after EU leaders agreed to draw up a list of targets for a new round of sanctions, Lukashenko has reached out to Russia, Belarus's closest ally.
Moscow said Sunday it was ready to provide military help if needed.
The Kremlin said that in a call with Lukashenko, President Vladimir Putin had expressed Russia's "readiness to provide the needed assistance" including "if necessary" through the CSTO military alliance between six ex-Soviet states.
RT Kremlin-funded television reported that this was in the case of "outside military threats".
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets over the last week to denounce the election result and support Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old political novice who ran after other potential candidates including her husband were jailed.
A violent police crackdown on protesters saw more than 6,700 people arrested, hundreds wounded and two people dead.
From exile in Lithuania, where she fled on Tuesday, Tikhanovskaya had called for a weekend of peaceful rallies.
Thousands of opposition supporters demonstrated in Minsk on Saturday at the spot where a 34-year-old protester died during unrest on Monday.
Officials said the man, Alexander Taraisky, died when an explosive device he was holding blew up in his hand.
Following the release of video footage contradicting this, Interior Minister Yury Karayev told Tut.by on Sunday: "Maybe they shot him with non-lethal weapons", saying only rubber bullets were used.
- Call for mass strikes -
The opposition has called for a general strike from Monday after hundreds of workers at state-run factories downed tools on Friday in a first sign that Lukashenko's traditional support base was turning against him.
Tikhanovskaya has announced the creation of a Coordination Council to ensure a transfer of power, asking foreign governments to "help us in organising a dialogue with Belarusian authorities".
She demanded the authorities release all detainees, remove security forces from the streets and open criminal cases against those who ordered the crackdown.
She has said she will organise new elections if Lukashenko steps down.
AFP RELAXNEWS
Mon Aug 17 2020
Popular opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had called for a weekend of protests following the disputed election, which gave Lukashenko 80 percent of the vote - AFPRelaxpic
Pelajar tahfiz perlu teroka bidang teknologi
Kira-kira 200,000 pelajar tahfiz di negara ini, perlu dipastikan untuk mempunyai kemampuan dan peluang menjadi tenaga penggerak kepada umat Islam Malaysia dalam meneroka bidang yang dahulu dilihat sebagai asing., tegas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Perpaduan rakyat prasyarat ekonomi mampan
Tidak semua negara Islam mempunyai ruang dan kesempatan untuk terus aman dan damai, dan mempunyai peluang untuk menikmati ekonomi yang kukuh dan berkembang seperti Malaysia, tegas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Beliau berkata, rakyat Malaysia perlu mempunyai tekad untuk memahami maksud dan keperluan perpaduan di kalangan mereka, serta kekuatan dalaman yang seterusnya dapat dijadikan tonggak untuk negara membuat langkah seterusnya.
Beliau berkata, rakyat Malaysia perlu mempunyai tekad untuk memahami maksud dan keperluan perpaduan di kalangan mereka, serta kekuatan dalaman yang seterusnya dapat dijadikan tonggak untuk negara membuat langkah seterusnya.
Tidak perlu tergesa-gesa tukar ke lesen B - JPJ
Pemegang Lesen Memandu Malaysia (LMM) Kelas B2 dan B1 tidak perlu tergesa-gesa mendaftar Program Khas Peralihan LLM Kelas B2/B1 Kepada LMM Kelas B kerana tiada had masa ditetapkan untuk permohonan.
KPWKM teruskan lapan inisiatif bantu warga emas
Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat (KPWKM) akan terus menggerakkan lapan inisiatif utama dalam memenuhi keperluan jagaan dan sistem sokongan terhadap warga emas.
Warga emas maut ditikam anak kandung yang berhalusinasi
Seorang pesara guru maut ditikam anak kandungnya sendiri di sebuah rumah dekat Kampung Senaling, di sini, petang Sabtu.
Menurut Ketua Polis Daerah Kuala Pilah, Superintendan Amran Mohd Ghani, siasatan awal mendapati warga emas berusia 65 tahun itu cuba memujuk anak lelakinya yang juga pemegang kad orang kurang upaya (OKU) mental yang dikatakan mahu membunuh diri.
Menurut Ketua Polis Daerah Kuala Pilah, Superintendan Amran Mohd Ghani, siasatan awal mendapati warga emas berusia 65 tahun itu cuba memujuk anak lelakinya yang juga pemegang kad orang kurang upaya (OKU) mental yang dikatakan mahu membunuh diri.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Sabtu, 5 Oktober 2024.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Hezbollah lancar serangan peluru berpandu ke atas kompleks industri ketenteraan di utara Israel
Pergerakan Hezbollah di Lubnan berkata mereka telah melancarkan serangan peluru berpandu ke atas kemudahan ATA Defence Industries.
Tiada kaitan dengan pelantikan CEO MDEC, Anuar Fariz bukan adik saya - Fahmi
Menteri Komunikasi Fahmi Fadzil menyangkal dakwaan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) baharu Perbadanan Ekonomi Digital Malaysia (MDEC) Anuar Fariz Fadzil merupakan adiknya.
Israel lakukan persiapan untuk serang Iran - Laporan
Tentera Israel sedang bersiap untuk "tindakan balas besar-besaran dan ekstrem" terhadap Iran.
Kata sepakat dicapai antara Moscow, ketua Wagner - Media Rusia
Prigozhin telah menerima cadangan Lukashenko untuk menghentikan kemaraan tentera upahan Wagner dan meredakan ketegangan.
'Apa masalahnya? Hubungi saja Putin' - Presiden Belarus dakwa boleh guna senjata nuklear
Presiden Belarus Alexander Lukashenko mengancam untuk menggunakan senjata nuklear, lapor Agensi Berita Jerman (dpa).
Belarus akan terima senjata nuklear pada Julai - Putin
Putin berkata persiapan di kemudahan berkaitan akan diselesaikan pada 7 dan 8 Julai sebelum pemindahan senjata nuklear dilaksanakan.
Hukuman mati menanti pengkhianat negara di Belarus
Pindaan kepada kanun jenayah negara itu disahkan oleh Presiden Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.
Penyelesaian konflik di Ukraine hanya bergantung kepada Kiev - Presiden Belarus
Presiden Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko yakin penyelesaian konflik di Ukraine hanya bergantung Kyiv yang perlu bersedia duduk di meja rundingan.
Jangan cabar Rusia jika tidak mahu Perang Dunia Ketiga tercetus - Presiden Belarus
Lukashenko juga memberi amaran beliau akan meminta Putin 'mengembalikan semula' senjata nuklear kepada Belarus jika Barat menggerakkan senjata nuklear mereka ke negara sempadan Minsk.
Perdana Menteri Belarus dipecat
Perdana Menteri Andrei Kobyakov akan digantikan dengan bekas ketua bank pembangunan, Sergei Rumas.