About 70 anti-Lukashenko protesters detained in Belarus

Police in Belarus yesterday detained about 70 of demonstrators, the Belarusian rights group Viasna-96 (Spring-96) said, as weekly protests demanding the resignation of veteran President Alexander Lukashenko continued. Belarus, a country of 9.5 million that Russia sees as a security buffer against Nato, has been rocked by mass protests since an Aug. 9 presidential election that Lukashenko, who is in power for 26 years, said he won. His opponents claim the vote was rigged. More than 30,000 people has been detained in Belarus since the start of the protests in August, according to opposition leaders.

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