Violent clashes in Minsk

2006-03-25 19:49

Minsk - A high-profile Belarussian opposition figure Alexander Kozulin was arrested following a rally in Minsk on Saturday as violent clashes took places between riot police and protestors, witnesses said.

"The police took Kozulin and several members of his family, as well as other protestors who were walking towards the prison where their comrades are being detained," Nida Shidlovskaya, his spokesperson, told AFP.

An AFP reporter on the scene saw lines of riot police beating back hundreds of protestors with truncheons close to where Kozulin was standing before his arrest. At least one person nursed a bloody head wound.

Maxim Kapran, 30, who joined the march, said around 2000 protestors took part and showed AFP what appeared to be a tear gas canister he said was used by riot police.

"One man defended his wife when four police officers attacked her during the clashes. They kicked him and he lost consciousness. Everyone thought he was dead but he had concussion," Kapran said.

The violence happened after a peaceful unauthorised rally in central Minsk called by Belarus' main opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich in protest against Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko's controversial landslide election victory last Sunday.

Lukashenko garnered 83%t of the vote, Milinkevich 6.1% and Kozulin, a former dean of Minsk university, won 2.2%, according to official results disputed by the opposition.

Contacted by telephone, Milinkevich appeared to distance himself from Kozulin, with whom he had formed a bond in oposition to Lukashenko's authoritarian regime.

"I know he did a provocation by bringing people towards the prison. I tried to dissuade him," Milinkevich said.

At a rally of around 7000 people, Kozulin had earlier slammed the Belarussian leader, saying :"The last dictator should be sent to The Hague (international war crimes) tribunal. We call on the United Nations to look at the question of Belarus."

Towards the end of the two-hour rally, Kozulin called on opposition supporters to march to the Okrestina prison, where hundreds of protestors were detained during a massive crackdown over the past week are believed to be held.

- AFP