Belarus Police Attack Crowd, Opposition Leader Arrested

MINSK, Belarus -- Belarusian police using gas grenades and clubs broke up a crowd of anti-government protestors on Saturday and arrested opposition leader Aleksandr Milinkevich, eyewitnesses said.

Belarus riot police beat opposition supporters during clashes in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, after rows of riot police blocked off a central square where opposition leaders planned a rally over the disputed election in Belarus, pushing crowds away in a massive show of force meant to quash persistent protests against President Lukashenko, but thousands of demonstrators defiantly gathered in a nearby park
The assault took place near the Opera Theatre building in the capital Minsk, where demonstrators had gathered following a failed attempt to reach central October Square.

Police charged the crowd shortly after 1500 GMT and were arresting all demonstration participants they could catch. Eyewitnesses reported "hundreds" of demonstrators lying on the ground, some with injuries.

The violence came after six days of peaceful anti-government demonstrations, which began last Sunday after authoritarian Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko was re-elected to office in a fraud-ridden election.

It was not immediately clear how many of the demonstrators were actually injured, and how many of the demonstrators were prone because of police orders to lie down.

Law enforcers arrested the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Aleksander Milinkevich on the central Kubyshev street shortly after the attack began, pulling Milinkevich from his automobile.

The number two man in the opposition, Aleksander Kazulin, was beaten by police before submitting to detention, and hauled off.

Between 2,000 and 4,000 anti-government protestors had gathered in central Minsk before the police assault. There were no early reports as to numbers escaped, and numbers arrested, either from law enforcers or from opposition spokesmen.

Pedestrians and bystanders at some locations showed support to the demonstrators, shouting "Fascists" as the police made arrests.

There apparently was little physical resistance to the police assault, which according to eyewitnesses was carried out by elite OMON special forces troops, and in overwhelming force.

Source: DPA