Amplify’d from www.onenewsnow.com
MINSK, BELARUS - A peaceful demonstration turned violent as some 20,000 protesters took to the streets of Minsk, Belarus, after elections there on Sunday.
Reports indicate President Alexander Lukashenko has won a fourth term in office by gaining nearly 80 percent of vote. Some have concerns with voting irregularities.
Silver Meikar, a member of the Estonian Reform Party since 1997 and a member of the parliament of Estonia, has great concern for the people of Belarus. "I think the biggest loser of this [very bloody] event...were the people [who were] very peacefully demonstrating for a better life, for more democracy, for human rights and so on," he laments.
According to Meiker, those who participated in the unsanctioned protests could suffer severe punishments.
The U.S. Embassy in Belarus has condemned the excessive use of force by the authorities, including the beating and detention of several presidential candidates. The foremost opposition leader Vladimir Neklyayev was one such candidate beaten and taken to a nearby hospital. Activists claim four plain-clothed men wrapped Neklyayev in a blanket and took him from the hospital to an unknown location.
Editor's note: Dozens of international journalists, including OneNewsNow's Russ Jones, were trapped in the lobby of Hotel Minsk where police barricaded the front doors, not allowing them outside. Jones reports he came "inches" from being clubbed while shooting video during the protests.
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