(14 Aug 2020) About 1,000 workers at the Minsk Tractor Plant rallied on Friday to demand Belarusian President Lukashenko's resignation and denounce the police crackdown on recent protests.
As they approached government headquarters in the city center, crowds gathered and motorists honked in support.
"People reject this president. We don't need him," said Sergey Dylevsky, a worker at Minsk Tractor Plant.
A procession of trucks made its way down the street, with some carrying messages such as "Stop beating people!"
Nearly 7,000 people have been detained and hundreds injured in a harsh clampdown by police on demonstrators protesting the official election results that said Lukashenko won 80% of the vote and his top challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya just 10%.
Police have broken up protests with stun grenades, tear gas, rubber bullets and severe beatings.
Workers also rallied at many other major factories in an unprecedented challenge to Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994 and earned the nickname of “Europe’s last dictator” for his relentless suppression of dissent.
The involvement of thousands of factory workers, who previously formed the core of Lukashenko's base, raised the prospect of a nationwide strike.
Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who fled on Tuesday to neighboring Lithuania, posted a video in which she disputed the results of the vote and demanded that the government start a dialogue with demonstrators.
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