Belarus Parliament Chair Urges People To Stop Unauthorized Demonstrations

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2020) Chairperson of the Bealrusian Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova said on Thursday that Belarus does not need a war and called on people to refrain from participating in unauthorized demonstrations and violent riots.

"Obviously, we all do not need a fight, we do not need a war. Minsk had always been quiet and calm. Let's stop self-destruction, we must not destroy with our own hands everything that we have created during the years of independence of our country," Kochanova told Belarus-1 state-owned television channel.

According to the chairperson, more than 1,000 people have so far been released under the obligation not to participate in unauthorized events, and minors were handed over to their parents.

People have been on the streets in Belarus since Sunday evening, when the election results showed incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko secure his sixth term with over 80 percent of the vote.

The demonstrations have been harshly suppressed by the security forces, with law enforcement officers using tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters. Thousands of people were arrested and many journalists, both domestic and foreign, went missing.