The internet is back in #Belarus.But what happened yesterday reminded me of a curfew.The police blocked main streets and roads in the city centre,often for pedestrians. Cars were pulled away and searched,as well as people.The authorities prevented any gathering from the beginning
People tried to gather at Pushkinskaya metro station. But around 7 pm, internal troops and OMON arrived.They dispersed people a few times. Some protesters moved to the outskirts of #Minsk since the centre was blocked. Here's where internal troops and OMON followed.
OMON hid in ambulance cars and in vehicles that looked like ordinary city buses. They would unexpectedly appear and beat people. Police use unmarked buses without registration plates. They don't even pretend to act in accordance with the law. It ruins trust in all state services
Cars were honking - it is a new format of a protest.But the police also learned and cars were being stopped.Motorcyclists are being pulled away and detained as well.Police,internal troops and OMON were more prepared,they were tactically well-organised and didn't leave open spaces
But let’s remember that people gathered during the day as well - at the venue where a protester was killed. They kept coming for hours,leaving flowers and clapping. That’s why the authorities quickly deployed internal troops early in the evening to stop more people from coming
The Internet is back, because it’s a huge reputational blow - I know about private companies that decided to move their entire departments to neighbouring countries since they couldn’t work without internet. And we are talking about WiFi as well,not only mobile connection
