Belarus Election Protests Turn Violent

In the aftermath of the controversial Belarusian Presidential Election of 2020, anti-government protests erupted in multiple cities, to be met with harsh tactics by security forces.

With incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko winning with almost 82% of the vote, to garner his sixth consecutive term against Independent candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. Extravagantly high vote totals for the incumbent are hallmarks of authoritarian regimes and an obvious clue that vote rigging has taken place. Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since the office was first created in 1994.

Lukashenko rules as an authoritarian, as befitting his pre-politics career as a political officer in the Soviet military and his rise to power as a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The 2020 Belarusian election is seen by many as rigged in order to keep Lukashenko in power.

Alexander Lukashenko

Despite his authoritarian ways, his relationship with Vladimir Putin has deteriorated in recent years, to the point where the Belarus government arrested several members of the Russian mercenary company, the Wagner Group, only days prior to the election. The accusation by Lukashenko’s government was that these Russian operatives were in the capital city of Minsk because of the election.

Russian irregular and mercenary forces in Ukraine, Crimea, Syria, Libya, and elsewhere, have earned the nickname of “little green men,” for the green military uniforms they wear stripped of all national insignia that act as irregular or anonymous forces on Russia’s behalf.

In the current Belarus protest and crisis scenario, such anonymous military professionals could provide aid to legitimate protesters without the local anti-government forces even knowing they are being helped.

Regardless of how or if Russia is involved, the situation in Belarus on election night is violent and tense. Several videos of the situation on the ground in Minsk and other Belarusan cities are on Twitter and show the protests and the response by security forces.

If you haven’t seen what’s happening in Belarus, look into it. This is Minsk tonight. The President/Dictator claims to have won 80% of the vote. Yet thousands and thousands are protesting, saying he stole the election. This is his response 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/LHPL5lCdVw

— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) August 9, 2020

Reports of pro-democracy protests across Belarus tonight and extraordinary scenes in Minsk in particular. It seems that, this time, the people of Belarus aren’t willing to settle for a rigged election. pic.twitter.com/73X90NQwWe

— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) August 9, 2020

In this video, we see violence between protesters and security forces in multiple street scenes.

Scenes from #Belarus as thousands take to the streets to defend their vote. (📹@TadeuszGiczan) pic.twitter.com/Hugyc7uTVN

— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) August 9, 2020