(TOL) The demonstrations in Belarus protesting the fraudulent 9 August elections are continuing into their second week, with no signs of abating. Yesterday, 16 August, saw dueling meetings of pro- and anti-government supporters – with 30,000 in the former and over 200,000 in the latter, according to the BBC.
Most of the 7,000 or so people initially arrested have been released from detention, and the police have ceded control of many public spaces to the protest movement. The protesters have steered clear of the common tactic of occupying a highly visible public space – such as the Maidan in Kyiv, Tahrir Square in Cairo, or Tiananmen Square in Beijing – probably because such a move would just trigger brutal retaliation by the security forces. […]
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