Belarus arrests student protesters as Lukashenka tries to consolidate

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 02 Sep 2020 by Alex Teddy

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On September 1 police arrested almost 100 students demonstrating against the president. The protesters called the police fascist. It was the first day of the academic year. Hundreds more student protesters were not arrested. Protests have been ongoing since the disputed August 9 presidential election.Although protest numbers appear to be diminishing somewhat, neither Lukashenka nor the opposition appear to have any clear strategy.Maria Kolsenikov and Viktor Babriko announced yesterday that they are establishing a new political party (Together), which is unlikely to unite the entire opposition spectrum, while Lukashenka - although he holds power - is seeking support from Moscow and relying on loyal siloviki.Lukashenka accused the opposition of seeking to divide the country and provoke a bloodbath. He said they would cause a conflict far worse than the one in Ukraine. He suggested a referendum on constitutional reform. This is the nearest he has come to on a concession to the opposition. But it would likely be a constitutional reform referendum such as held in Russia earlier in 2020, which simply consolidated the power of the elite. Svitlana Tikhanovskaya claims to have won the election. The 37-year-old housewife and political novice is now in exile. She claimed the referendum idea is a case of the president's stalling.The UN special rapporteur on torture said that Belarus was torturing on a large scale.