Thousands try to storm gov't building in Belarus

MINSK, Belarus (AP):

Thousands of opposition supporters in Belarus tried to storm the main government building to protest what the opposition claims was large-scale vote-rigging in yesterday's presidential election.

Dozens of protesters were injured in clashes with riot police, left bruised and bloody after being beaten with clubs. An Associated Press reporter at the scene also was struck on the head, back and arm.

Protesters broke windows and glass doors, but were pushed back by riot police waiting inside the building, which also houses the Central Election Commission. Hundreds more riot police then arrived in trucks.

About 40,000 opposition activists rallied in central Minsk to call for longtime authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko to step down. It was the largest opposition rally since 1996.

"We had a peaceful protest and it is the authorities who used forced," said Marat Titovets, a 40-year-old engineeer. "After Lukashenko spilled blood, he cannot remain in power."

Beaten by riot police

Leading opposition candidate Vladimir Neklyayev was beaten by riot police while leading a few hundred of his supporters to the demonstration and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, according to his wife. His left eye was bruised, his nose was bleeding and he was nauseous and unable to speak, Olga Neklyayeva told the Associated Press.

After the polls closed, thousands of opposition activists converged as planned on October Square, but most of the square had been flooded to make an ice-skating rink and pop music boomed from loudspeakers.

The protesters then set off along the main avenue toward Independence Square, where the main government building is located.

The demonstrators shouted "leave" to Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994 in a heavy-handed regime that is often characterized as the last dictatorship in Europe.

"Belarusians have shown that they want freedom and cannot tolerate the current regime," opposition leader Yaroslav Romanchuk said.

Russia and the European Union are closely monitoring the election, having offered major economic inducements to tilt Belarus in their direction.

Moral victory

Signs that Lukashenko is leaning toward the West would be a moral victory for countries that have long criticised his harsh rule and worried about his connections with vehemently anti-West regimes. For Russia, a return to the fold would bolster Moscow's desire to remain the power broker in former Soviet regions.

In casting his ballot, Lukashenko expressed confidence that he would win a fourth term. He denounced the planned opposition rally as being led by "bandits and saboteurs" and proclaimed that it would not take place.

"Don't worry, nobody is going to be on the square tonight," Lukashenko said, while voting with his six-year-old son, Kolya.

But tens of thousands turned out.

"How can we counter a dictator who created a police state in the past 16 years?" said 21-year-old student Artur Makayonak, who was among the activists heading to the square. "Only our protests, our strive for freedom and a peaceful rally."

Opposition candidates and rights activists said five senior campaign workers and 27 opposition activists have been detained since Saturday. Police refused to comment.