MINSK: Demonstrators descended on the Belarusian capital on Monday for a ninth night of protests against strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, who was heckled by factory workers as pressure grows on him to step down. Several thousand protesters gathered at Independence Square in central Minsk, waving the red-and-white flag of the opposition, chanting “Leave” and calling on the ex-Soviet country’s authoritarian leader to resign. Employees at several factories and state television earlier walked off the job after the biggest opposition rallies in Lukashenko’s 26 years in power on Sunday. A police crackdown that has seen thousands arrested and widespread allegations of brutality appears to have turned even Lukashenko’s support base at state-owned industries against him. In footage widely shared on social media, workers at the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant interrupted Lukashenko with shouts of “Leave!” as he tried to give a speech on Monday.

Source: Manila Times August 18, 2020 16:18 UTC