Belarus Dissenters Vow To Rally
Opposition Leaders Say Sat. Protest Set; Police Storm Tent Camp
-
-
Belarusian police officers detain protesters as they storm the opposition tent camp in the Belarusian capital Minsk early Friday morning, March 24, 2006. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
-
Belarusian police officers leave a square of the opposition tent camp in the Belarusian capital Minsk early Friday morning, March 24, 2006. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
-
A supporter of opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich fixes a banned Belarusian flag on a pole at a rally on a main square in central Minsk, Belarus, early Tuesday, March 21, 2006. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
-
Belarus' opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich, left, gestures as he greets his supporters during a rally on a main square in central Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, March 21, 2006. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
-
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in a televised news conference, March 20, 2006. (AP)
-
-
Photo Essay Belarus Election Protests Demonstrators protest President Alexander Lukashenko's victory in disputed election.
-
Fast Facts Belarus Learn about the people, economy and history.
-
Interactive Soviet Union Breakup Find out how a coup caused the breakup of one of the world's super powers. Meet the key players, view images of the coup and learn more about how the former Soviet republics are faring today.
High school student Alexander Ushko said police "beat those who were the most active and those who were resisting," being careful to avoid leaving bruises. "They punched me in the legs and the back of the head," he said after his father came to the jail to secure his release.
A former Polish ambassador to Belarus, Mariusz Maszkiewicz, was among those arrested and said he and others in the same police truck were severely beaten, Polish Embassy spokeswoman Monika Sadkowska said.
Tension mounted on Oktyabrskaya Square again Friday evening, as scores of opposition supporters holding flowers were pushed away by black-clad police.
Groups of police then gradually cleared the large square, pushing people off in all directions and detaining at least three, including a man who appeared to have been punched in the chin and a woman who struggled but was subdued by a dozen officers. A crowd on the main street leading off the square shouted "Shame!"
"The authorities are destroying freedom, truth and justice," Milinkevich told The Associated Press.
The European Union and the United States both called for an immediate end to the crackdown on the opposition.
EU leaders said the bloc would take "restrictive measures" against Lukashenko, including a likely travel ban to the EU and a possible freeze of Belarusian assets in Europe. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Washington would act in unison with the EU on such measures.
Earlier this week, the White House called for new elections in Belarus, CBS News correspondent Peter Maer reported. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the U.S. does not accept the election results, and added, "The U.S. will continue to stand with the people of Belarus."
Those measures seemed unlikely to influence Lukashenko, who despises the West and is pushing for the closer union of Belarus and Russia.
Lukashenko's supporters, who credit him with providing economic and political stability, were happy to see the tent camp gone.
"They had no business being there; it was a stupid rally," said Natalia, 57, a pensioner who declined to give her last name for fear of attracting attention. "We live OK and if something's not broken, don't fix it."
©MMVI CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More From World
Author Thomas Friedman on Obama's Afghanistan plan and the war on terror.
