Belarusians defy rally ban; 80 held
MINSK, BELARUS — Police beat demonstrators with truncheons and hauled them into waiting trucks Tuesday as thousands of opposition protesters turned out on a holiday in defiance of a government ban.
Belarusian President Alexander G. Lukashenko’s authoritarian government had vowed to prevent rallies commemorating what the opposition has traditionally called “Freedom Day.” March 25 is the anniversary of the 1918 declaration of the first, short-lived independent Belarusian state, and a traditional day of opposition demonstrations.
Opposition groups reported that security agents arrested activists around the country before the demonstrations.
But thousands of protesters chanting, “Long live Belarus!” and waving opposition and European Union flags tried to converge on a central square here in the capital.
Police blocked off the square and used loudspeakers to warn the protesters that the gathering was illegal.
The Interior Ministry said more than 80 people were detained.
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