The current Belarusian regime is warning protesters it may resort to lethal force as the demonstrations in the capital of Minsk have ‘become radicalized’. We assume the government means ‘radicalized’ against those in power. They may be correct.
However, Tsarizm thinks these warnings are more threatening than real, as world opinion would surely force Lukashenko from power if he kills demonstrators on a massive scale. The fact that Russian state news is pushing this narrative means it could be coordinated propaganda decided in Moscow.
“The protests that largely shifted to Minsk have become organized and highly radicalized. In light of this, officers of the internal affairs agencies and servicemen of the internal troops will not leave the streets and will use special equipment and lethal weapons if need be,” he said in a video address published by the agency’s official Telegram channel wrote Russian state news agency TASS.
Kazakevich noted that the ministry sees that “the protests are slowly dying down in territory and scale.” However, the Minsk protests became radicalized according to the agency. “The rallies in the capital last Sunday prove that. In the daytime and in the evening, there were stones, bottles, knives and shivs. As we got closer to the night, there were barricades and burning tires. This has nothing in common with a civil protest,” the official added. According to him, attempts are made to throw Belarus “into the chaos of the 1990s, make it go down the regretful path of countries that lived through color revolutions.”
Earlier on Monday, spokesperson for the national Interior Ministry, Olga Chemodanova reported that around 11,000 people took part in the protests in Minsk on October 11, leading to 713 detentions by law enforcement agents, wrote TASS.
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