(24 Mar 2006)
1. Wide shot of tent city, police in foreground
2. Mid shot same
3. Cutaway flags
4. Various shot police dragging protestors into bus
5. Mid shot protestor being carried into bus
6. Wide shot police lined up on street
7. Wide shot of special police forces at square
8. Mid shot of men led away into police truck
9. Mid shot of protesters waiting to be taken
10. Mid shot of protesters led into bus
11. Wide shot of bus driving into square, pan to former tent city
SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Alexander Kozulin, Opposition leader:
12. "I can only say that the authorities are cynical, helpless and cowardly. There's no other evaluation possible. We saw today how young people showed all their heroism and showed that the authorities did not have enough patience. This is very sad but this is our history. This is the life that is taking place in Belarus today."
13. Mid shot of remains of tent city
14. Close-up of man taking down tent
15. Wide shot of square with bus driving off
STORYLINE:
Police stormed the opposition tent camp in Minsk early on Friday morning, detaining scores of demonstrators who had spent a fourth night in a central square to protest Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's victory in a disputed election.
The arrests came after half a dozen large police buses and 75 helmeted riot police with clubs pulled up to Oktyabrskaya Square in central Minsk at about 3 am (2300 GMT Thursday).
The police stood around for a few minutes and then barged into the tent camp filled with protesters.
They wrestled 40 to 50 demonstrators into buses and the rest of the approximately 200 demonstrators were taken into custody without apparent resistance.
By the end of the 10-15 minute operation, all of the protesters had been taken away.
All that remained were their tents, kicked down amid the detentions, and their gear and garbage.
One of the opposition's leaders, Alexander Kozulin, called the authorities, "cynical, helpless and cowardly. There's no other evaluation possible. We saw today how young people showed all their heroism and showed that the authorities did not have enough patience. This is very sad but this is our history. This is the life that is taking place in Belarus today."
On the square, about 15 tents were decorated with the opposition's trademark red-and-white flags, which were scrapped by the president in favour of a Soviet-era banner in green, white and red.
The tents also had blue ribbons and balloons. The blue represented denim, a colour of progress and protest in Soviet times.
City workers cleared the tent camp with bulldozers after Friday's arrests.
Police had been detaining opposition supporters and would-be protesters away from the square, but Friday's arrests marked the first time they had tried to forcefully eject the demonstrators en masse.
The protests over the past week over Lukashenko's win have consistently attracted thousands nightly, but the numbers have been too small to pose a real threat to the hardline Belarusian leader's rule.
Activists said their supporters from the provinces were prevented from coming to the capital, with train and bus services limited.
Some middle-aged Minsk residents also had spent nights at the camp, then rushed to work in the morning to avoid scrutiny by employers loyal to the government.
Even elderly retirees braved freezing temperatures and the lack of basic amenities, such as a place to sit and a clean toilet, in the tent city.
keyword-protests
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