A nationwide strike has been officially initiated in Belarus which was pushed by opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
A nationwide strike has been officially initiated in Belarus which was pushed by opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
Tikhanovskaya earlier warned of the strike which was included the “people’s ultimatum” against Alexander Lukashenko, the country’s incumbent president, was supposed to resign from the post, to release all political prisoners, and to cease all the violence against citizens.
Opposition Telegram Channel NEXTA announced that a march of pensioners and doctors will take place first before starting a human chain that would follow road blockades by 17:00 local time.
“Employees of state factories and enterprises, transport workers and miners, teachers and students have gone on strike this morning,” said Tikhanovskaya on Telegram.
Local Belorussian media outlets have shown factory workers shouting slogans along with mass sit-ins done by students.
A video of BSUIR students walking around their campus, chanting, “Join! Join!” also made rounds on social media.
Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) posted a video on Twitter showing cars slowing down and honking to block the roads of Minsk.
Human rights group Vesna reported that 155 protesters have been arrested so far in Minsk, Barysaw, Brest, Hrodno, Mogilev and Novopolotsk.
Most of the details regarding the nationwide are still unclear due to the Belarusian government’s restriction on the media.
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