Protesters yesterday gathered on the anniversary of the founding day of the People’s Republic of Belarus in “October Avenue” opposite the presidential compound and chanted slogans like,
This didn’t go over to well with the authorities!
Today, the protesters were charged with breaching the peace:
Prosecutors opened a criminal case Saturday against more than two dozen protesters arrested in a rally demanding the ouster of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Police spokesman Oleg Khlebchenko said prosecutors had opened a criminal cases for mass acts breaching the peace and could charge many of those detained who would face up to a three-year jail sentence. The criminal case also could end up resulting in charges against people considered to be the organizers of the protest as well as those detained.
The protest organizer had this to say:
Andrei Klimov, an organizer of the demonstration, said that the aim of the demonstration was to start a revolution in Belarus similar to the ones in Georgia, the Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. Klimov said: “With the demonstration of today the West, Russia and our Authorities will realize that Belarus is ready for serious change.”
But, the authorities had this to say:
The foreign ministry of the Republic of Belarus made the following statement: “The events that took place on March 24 in the capital of Kyrgyzstan caused great anxiety in Belarus.”
Update: (between NCAA games) Communication Central, “Instapundit” has linked to this disturbing news.