Belarus detentions resume as opposition pushes for new vote amid urgent

A woman takes pictures of anti-Lukashenko posters at the pedestal of a monument during an opposition demonstration in Minsk. Pic/AFP

Authorities in Belarus on Wednesday resumed detentions of protesters who keep taking to the streets to demand the resignation of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, as opposition leaders ratchet up pressure on the government by forming a coordination council to push for a new election.'

Two detained

Several dozen people were detained in front of the Minsk Tractor Factory, where workers have been on strike since Monday, Sergei Dylevsky, leader of the factory's strike committee, told The AP. The country's Interior Ministry said in a statement that police detained only two protesters and pushed the remaining crowd aside.

The new detentions come after days of peaceful protests, which police didn't interfere with. They also came hours before the first meeting of the opposition's coordination council, which was formed to facilitate peaceful transition of power and denounced by Lukashenko as "an attempt to seize power" in the country. "If someone thinks that the government bent down and teetered, you're mistaken," Lukashenko said. "We will not waver."

EU to back protesters

Meanwhile, European Union leaders are putting on a show of support on Wednesday for people protesting in Belarus. Emergency talks will aim to highlight their concern about the contested presidential election and ratchet up pressure on officials linked to the security crackdown that followed.

The EU believes that the results of the August 9 polls, which handed President Lukashenko his sixth term, "have been falsified," and the 27-nation bloc is preparing a list of Belarus officials who could be blacklisted from Europe over their roles.

It's not entirely clear what the Europeans can do right now, but they seem determined to revive a sanctions on Belarus that was eased four years ago.

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