Today became extremely important for the protests in the country. Despite the bad weather and whining on the Internet, a huge number of people came out in the capital and regions. In Minsk, by various estimates, there were from 100 to 200 thousand people. The regions also did not let down, and in some cities was even better than a week ago.
Collective energy on the street showed once again that this protest cannot be stopped. People go out with entire families and bring children despite numerous threats from the regime. Our collective strength provides security for every participant in the protest. We walked through the city and showed who is really the master in this country, and who should hide behind barbed wire.
Lukashenkov’s performance (or else you won’t call it) made many people laugh. Ridiculous videos, which should turn the old dictator into a vigorous figure, showed him a marasmatic, giving the gun to a teenager. The praise to the OMON, who tortured and killed people last week, may be too much even for those who are ready to go to prolukashenka meetings for a couple of tens of rubles.
No matter how hard the dictator tries, he is absolutely unable to act as a strong leader. For the Internet, every step turns into a meme. Everyone – from independent journalists to anarchists – makes fun of him. Humor is one of the strongest forms of struggle with the authorities.
But somewhere there is a dangerous reality behind all this clownery. Lukashenko’s foolishness, in spite of all laughter, is still the dictator’s foolishness. Today, Lukashenko is a monkey with a grenade, who can start killing at any moment. For the first time in the country’s history, the military came out to protect the regime. Yes, it was at “Stela” and nobody cared before that, but there is a precedent: the military with barbed wire stands in the center of the capital with weapons, and the Minister of Defense threatens peaceful demonstrators with the use of force.
Lukashenko is dangerous now, because he is cornered and can start doing any kind of mayhem. We have already seen that the OMON is ready to go all the way with its Fuhrer. In turn, it makes no sense for the Belarusian people to fear the army of conscripts. Even if martial law is introduced, these very conscripts are likely to take the side of the people – they have families, relatives and friends in this very people. The level of support for Lukashenko is falling every day. Shooting at the crowd is like shooting in your own yard.
This is why any step of a dictator today is an attempt to grab a straw to avoid drowning. We have shown our strength on many occasions, so we go all the way to the end – to a country without a dictatorship! Every day we take to the streets of our cities, organize local assemblies, support the strikers and put pressure on local authorities.
