BBC: National Opposition Strike Gains Momentum in Belarus
Groups of workers and students in Belarus have heeded a nationwide strike call by exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, to press for the president's resignation, the BBC reports.
The publication reads that workers at a number of state-run plants downed tools and chanted slogans outside the gates.
"Hundreds of students also marched out of several universities in Minsk, clapping, chanting and linking arms.
"However, the government says key enterprises are still running smoothly.
"President Alexander Lukashenko ignored the opposition's midnight deadline for him to step down," reads the article.
The human rights group Vesna said 216 people had been detained on Sunday, while on Monday, at least 155 people were arrested for supporting the strike action in Minsk, Barysaw, Brest, Hrodno, Mogilev and Novopolotsk, based on the same source.
Protests in Belarus have been ongoing since Lukashenko’s very controversial win in the August 9 elections.
Recently, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, an opposition leader of Belarus, has been put on the country’s wanted list.
"The decision comes after Tikhanovskaya allegedly made calls to overthrow the constitutional order," the local authorities claimed.
The country’s investigators say they have proof of the Belarusian opposition coordination council’s members attempt to endanger national security.
Tikhanovskaya fled to Lithuania for her own safety after the election.
By Ana Dumbadze
Source: BBC
Image: Getty Images