Protest in Minsk scheduled for tonight


Belorussian youth called on participating in peaceful protests scheduled to be held today at 7 pm in various cities. The call announced on Facebook and Vkontaktie (Russian version of Fb), is another act of “Revolution through social networks”. The organizers of the action called on people to gather at main squars of Belorussian cities. They also asked not to bring any flags or banners in order to prevent the police from arresting the participants. A professional video clips were prepared titled “Meditate” and “Kill the fear, become a hero”, encouraging people to take to the streets.

The first action, held on June 8th, gathered 400 people at the Minsk main square and between 100 and 200 people in other cities. Police did not detain any of the participants. Just a day before, there was a protest held by the Minsk drivers against fuel price increase. Drivers blocked main street of the capital – the Independence prospect, by pretending their cars broke down or driving in circles. The demonstration, organized through the Internet, gathered few hundred people.

Belorussian authorities started to react to the growing social tension in the country by increasing control on the Internet-based initiatives. On June 3rd, Dmitri Niefiedov – a moderator of the “Revolution through social networks” website, was visited by KGB officers with search warrant. After conducting the search, KGB detained Niefiedov and held him in arrest for two days. Another victim of the government’s crackdown on the Internet freedom was Siarhey Pavlukievich, an administrator of “March of Millions” website, which called for removing from power “illegal president Alexander Lukashenka”. On June 4th, KGB confiscated his computer and deleted the March of Millions group with its 120 thousand members, registered on vkontaktie.ru.

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