2010 Belarusian protests

Last updated
Riot police seen during the protests in Minsk Protest against the falsified presidential election in 2010 Minsk.jpg
Riot police seen during the protests in Minsk

The 2010 Belarusian protests were mass protest actions in Belarus against the results of the 2010 Belarusian presidential election, which took place on December 19, 2010 and were brutally dispersed. Between 10,000 and 60,000 people took part in the protest on October Square and Independence Square in Minsk. It was announced that a people's movement for free elections would be created without Lukashenka. Some participants tried to break into the Government House. Clashes with riot police took place. As a result, dozens of people were detained and beaten, including presidential candidates Khaklyaeu, Sannikov, Kastusyou, Statkevich, and Rymasheuski. [1]

Contents

Background

Mass political actions and protests have been almost banned since Alexander Lukashenko took power in the 1994 Belarusian presidential election. In 1996 and 1997, a wave of popular demonstrations and massive strikes took place led by opposition members as a continuation of the hunger strikes and unrest in 1995 after the Belarusian constitutional referendum that same year. Mass protests in 1999 against the government was brutally suppressed. Presidential elections have always been rigged and election protests have always been held since 2001, when the 2001 Belarusian presidential election was met with protests. The same happened after the 2004 Belarusian constitutional referendum and the 2006 Belarusian presidential election, when the Jeans Revolution took place. After the 2010 election, protesters marched and chanted slogans depicting the president and saying it was their last straw. [2]

Civil unrest

On the eve of the election, Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu, Vital Rymasheuski, Andrei Sannikov and Mikalai Statkevich called on their supporters to hold a rally on October Square in Minsk on December 19. Reinforced police forces were brought to her. A number of opposition websites were unavailable in Minsk, as well as LiveJournal, Twitter, and some other websites. HTTPS secure sites are also not available. In addition, the opposition websites Belarusian Partisan and Charter 97 were unavailable for a long time during the attack. Even before the beginning of the rally, at half past seven, unknown people in black attacked Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu's column, which was heading to the square. Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu lost consciousness during beating, he was taken away by ambulance. Other opposition nominees joined their supporters in the square at 8 p.m. An hour later, 5 nominees took part in a march to Independence Square, where the Government House is located, where the National Assembly of Belarus and the Central Election Commission meet, where the votes were being counted at the time. There was a rally and an attempt to negotiate with the government. [3] [4]

During the protest, a group of unidentified individuals attempted to storm the Government House, breaking glass and breaking doors. There was also a version that the glass and doors in the Government House were broken by provocateurs. In response, the police indiscriminately started beating peaceful marchers, which led to the application of several demonstrators traumatic brain injury and abandonment of the area by most participants in the march. About 5,000 of them remained with Sannikov and Rymasheuski. At midnight, after the organizers of the rally tried to summon the leadership of the security forces for talks, hundreds of policemen dispersed them as well. At the same time, one of the presidential candidates Viktor Tereshchenko, who did not take part in the rally and immediately admitted his defeat by Lukashenko, published on his website on December 20, 2010 that “10 days before the storming of the Government House, presidential candidates offered to consider this scenario "and invited him to participate, but he refused. At the same time Tereshchenko admitted that due to the situation after the presidential election, he planned to emigrate with his family to seek political asylum in another country. Organisers said the rally would be indefinite and urged everyone to come to Independence Square on Monday, December 20, at 6 p.m. The day after the election, on December 20, at 6 pm, 50 to 200 people gathered in Independence Square and were dispersed by riot police, and some of the protesters were arrested. [5]

On December 20, Lukashenko announced the arrest of 639 people and confirmed that presidential candidates were being interrogated in KGB detention centers. On December 29, Nyaklyaeu, Rymasheuski, Sannikov, and Statkevich were charged with organizing an unauthorized public event, which under Article 293 of the Criminal Code provided for imprisonment for a term of 5 to 15 years. On February 17, Nyaklyaeu, a member of the campaign, was sentenced to four years in prison. Most of those arrested were sentenced to fines of up to 30 "base amounts" (about 265 euros) and 15 days in prison. On December 31, the Ministry of Foreign Affair announced the termination of the powers of the OSCE Office in Minsk due to the government's unwillingness to extend them. On January 21, Lukashenko was sworn in for a fourth presidential oath.

Aftermath

The official newspaper of the Lukashenko administration "Soviet Belarus - Belarus Today" on the basis of declassified documents of the Belarusian secret services accused the special services of Poland and Germany of the events of December 19 in Minsk.

See also

Related Research Articles

Alexander Lukashenko President of Belarus

Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko or Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka is a Belarusian politician who has served as the first president of Belarus since the establishment of the office on 20 July 1994. Before his political career, Lukashenko worked as director of a state farm (sovkhoz), and served in the Soviet Border Troops and in the Soviet Army.

Elections in Belarus Political elections for public offices in Belarus

Belarus elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The National Assembly has two chambers. The'House of Representatives has 110 members elected in single-seat constituencies elected for a four-year term. The Council of the Republic has 64 members, 56 members indirectly elected and eight members appointed by the president.

Charter 97 is a declaration calling for democracy in Belarus and a pro-human rights news site taking its inspiration from the declaration. The document – the title of which deliberately echoes the Czechoslovak human rights declaration Charter 77 20 years earlier – was created on the anniversary of a referendum held in 1996, and which, in the words of the organisation of the same name, declares:

"devotion to the principles of independence, freedom and democracy, respect to the human rights, solidarity with everybody, who stands for elimination of dictatorial regime and restoration of democracy in Belarus".

2006 Belarusian presidential election Presidential election in Belarus

Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 19 March 2006. The result was a victory for incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko, who received 84.4% of the vote. However, Western observers deemed the elections rigged. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) declared that the election "failed to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections". In contrast, election observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) described the vote as open and transparent.

Jeans Revolution 2006 pro-democracy protests in Belarus

The Jeans Revolution was a term used by Belarus' democratic opposition to describe their protests following the 2006 Belarusian presidential election.

Iryna Khalip is a Belarusian journalist, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of Novaya Gazeta, known for her criticism of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

2010 Belarusian presidential election Presidential election in Belarus

Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 19 December 2010. The election was originally planned for the beginning of 2011. However, the final date was set during an extraordinary session of the National Assembly of Belarus on September 14, 2010.

Andrei Sannikov Belarusian pro-democracy activist

Andrei Olegovich Sannikov is a Belarusian politician and activist. In the early 1990s, he headed the Belarusian delegation on Nuclear and Conventional Weapons Armament Negotiations, also serving as the Belarusian diplomat to Switzerland. From 1995 to 1996, he served as Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus, resigning as a form of political protest. He co-founded the civil action Charter 97, and was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize in 2005.

Chernobyl Way

Chernobyl Way is an annual rally held on April 26 by the opposition in Belarus as a remembrance of the Chernobyl disaster.

Mikola Statkevich Belarusian politician and pro-democracy activist

Mikola (Mikalai) Statkevich is a Belarusian politician and presidential candidate at the 2010 election. Since May 31, 2020 he is held in prison by Belarusian authorities. Viasna Human Rights Centre recognized him as a political prisoner.

Belarusian democracy movement Movement for democracy and against the ruling government of Belarus

The Belarusian democracy movement is an umbrella term used to describe opposition groups and individuals in Belarus seeking to challenge first the authorities of Soviet Belarus from 1988–1991 and then from 1995 the increasingly authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, whom supporters of the movement often consider to be a dictator. Supporters of the movement tend to call for a parliamentary democracy based on a western model, with freedom of speech and political and religious pluralism.

The 2011 Belarusian protests were a series of peaceful protests by demonstrators in Belarus demanding the resignation of current Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, who had been the president of Belarus since 1994. Belarus is an authoritarian state, and in May 2011 presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov was sentenced to five years in prison for taking part in the 2010 elections. Lukashenko claims he won with almost 80% of the vote.

2015 Belarusian presidential election Presidential election in Belarus

Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 11 October 2015. Long-term president Alexander Lukashenko ran for his fifth term in office, having won every presidential election since independence in 1991. He was re-elected with 84% of the vote, according to official figures. The 'against all' option received more votes than any opposition candidate.

Independence Square, Minsk

Independence Square is a square in Minsk, Belarus. It is one of the landmarks on Independence Avenue. The National Assembly of Belarus and Minsk City Hall are on this square. During the period of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic it was called Lenin Square. It is currently one of the biggest squares in Europe.

2020 Belarusian presidential election 2020 presidential election in Belarus

The 2020 Belarusian presidential election was held on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August.

Sergei Tikhanovsky Belarusian YouTuber, activist and politician

Sergei Leonidovich Tikhanovsky or Siarhiej Leanidavič Cichanoŭski is a Belarusian YouTuber, video blogger, dissident and pro-democracy activist. He is considered by Amnesty International to be a prisoner of conscience. He is known primarily for his activism against the government of Belarus's long-serving president, Alexander Lukashenko. In May 2020, he announced his intention of running for the 2020 presidential election, but he was arrested two days afterwards. His wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya ended up as the main rival to Lukashenko in the contested elections.

Viktar Babaryka Belarusian banker, philanthropist, and pro-democracy activist (born 1963)

Viktar Dzmitryevich Babaryka is a Belarusian banker, philanthropist, public and opposition political figure who intended to become a candidate in 2020 Belarusian presidential election. He is considered a political prisoner after having his candidacy rejected, followed by being detained by the Belarusian government over charges of "illegal [financial] activities" that are considered to be politically motivated.

Events in the year 2020 in Belarus.

2020–2021 Belarusian protests 2020–2021 protests against the re-election of Alexander Lukashenko

The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were a series of mass political demonstrations and protests against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. The largest anti-government protests in the history of Belarus, the demonstrations began in the lead-up to and during the 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought his sixth term in office. In response to the demonstrations, a number of relatively small pro-government rallies were held.

The 2020–2021 Belarusian protests were a series of political demonstrations and protests against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko. The largest anti-government protests in the history of Belarus, the demonstrations began in the lead-up to and during the 2020 presidential election, in which Lukashenko sought his sixth term in office. In response to the demonstrations, a number of relatively small pro-government rallies were held.

References

  1. ↑ "Belarus protests: more than 600 charged and opposition leaders in jail". The Guardian. 21 December 2010.
  2. ↑ "Belarus jails 600 activists over election unrest". BBC. 21 December 2010.
  3. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20101230021136/http://news.mail.ru/inworld/belorussia/politics/4996944/ Мінск адразалі ад Інтэрнэту
  4. ↑ У Беларусі заблакаваны сайты незалежных СМІ і блогі
  5. ↑ "'Hundreds of protesters arrested' in Belarus". BBC.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.