https://www.cbsnews.com/video/protests-keep-pressure-on-belarus-president-lukashenko-to-resign/ President Lukashenko is walking around in a bullet proof vest carrying an assault rifle. He calls the protesters 'rats'. Many are arrested, or beaten or .killed. Russia is a player here. Putin wanted to join Belarus to the Russian Federation.His position now is ambiguous. I've been following this for weeks. Something is going to happen soon.
Friday, September 4th. Lukashenko is still in power. Putin has returned to supporting him. Lukashenko is a brutal man. He needs to go.
I usually follow those events (Ukraine, Egypt, Belarus), too, and compare them with what we've been through. We, the East Germans, also overthrew our dictator in a peaceful revolution in which not a single person was killed. Women played a very important role as well. It took a lot of courage to face the police and army because you never knew whether they were going to fire at the protesters. Machine guns had been positioned at strategic points and it could all have ended in a bloodshed as it did in 1953 with Russian tanks being committed. I can't pass by those spots today without thinking of what could also have happened back then. Two things were critical for the success: a) Thousands of people protesting in the streets of several cities needed to have strict discipline. There mustn't be the slightest provocation on the part of the demonstrators which could have been used as a subterfuge by the regime to give the order to open fire. That's why women gave flowers to fully armed police and soldiers. And b) Such a peaceful revolution could only have been successful because people on both sides were sick and tired of the status quo and wanted a change. That was the case in East Germany. Also the forces benefiting from the regime needed to be in favor of a new system, of reforms at least. Such an overarching goal was vital in order to avoid a division of society. Unfortunately, that has not been the case in a number of other countries which then led to civil war. Let's hope it won't happen in Belarus.
US democracy watchdog gives freedom award to Hong Kong protesters A US democracy watchdog honoured Hong Kong’s anti-government campaigners on Wednesday for having “inspired the world” and continuing to protest despite new national security legislation that has made public expressions of opposition “tremendously dangerous”. Article available at South China Morning Post
@Dwight Ward "His policies have been praised by some other world leaders. In response to a question about Belarus's domestic policies, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela said "We see here a model social state like the one we are beginning to create."[171] The Chairman of the Chinese Standing Committee of National People's CongressWu Bangguo noted that Belarus has been rapidly developing under Lukashenko." Frank