Putin says Russia is ready to quash Belarus protests
MINSK, Belarus — Russia has a reserve of law enforcement officers prepared to enter Belarus to stop ongoing protests there, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a state television interview broadcast on Thursday.
The reserve will be used only if the situation gets out of control, “if extremists, hiding behind political slogans, cross certain boundaries and start looting, setting fire to cars, homes, banks, attempting to seize administrative buildings, and so on,” Putin said.
The reserve was formed upon Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s request as part of the close alliance between Russia and neighboring Belarus, Putin said, adding: “I hope there will be no need to use this reserve.”
The comments came hours before the Belarusian special police force, OMON, forcibly disbanded protests in Minsk, making dozens of arrests.
Many journalists were also temporarily detained, with Minsk-based human rights organization Wesna estimating about 150 people had been arrested.
Security forces wearing black face masks encircled Independence Square on Thursday evening, where a dpa correspondent reported from the scene that hundreds of people had gathered peacefully to defy a ban on demonstrations.
Belarusian police have been carrying out a violent crackdown on mostly peaceful protests following a disputed presidential election earlier this month, which authorities say gave Lukashenko a landslide victory with more than 80% of the votes.
Protesters, including a far-reaching movement of striking factory workers, allege that the election was rigged.
Lukashenko, 65, has led Belarus for more than a quarter of a century. There have been demonstrations against him every day since the Aug. 9 election.
Poland, an EU state bordering Belarus, called for Russia to abandon any plans for an armed intervention in Belarus.
“(The Polish) government urges Russia to immediately withdraw from plans for a military intervention in Belarus, under the false excuse of ‘restoring control,’” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Twitter.