No new polls in Belarus

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko rejected calls to step down in a defiant speech to supporters yesterday as tens of thousands of opponents rallied for the biggest demonstration yet against his disputed re-election.

The strongman who has ruled the ex-Soviet country for the last 26 years is facing an unprecedented challenge to his leadership from a growing protest movement fanned by a brutal police crackdown.

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In a rare campaign-style rally in front of flag-waving supporters in central Minsk, Lukashenko said: "I called you here not to defend me... but for the first time in a quarter-century, to defend your country and its independence."

"The elections were valid. We will not hand over the country," he said.

As he spoke, tens of thousands of people walked down Independence Avenue for a "March for Freedom" called by the opposition to keep up pressure after a week of demonstrations. Columns of protesters raised victory signs and held flowers and balloons. Many wore white, the colour that has come to symbolise the opposition movement.

 A violent post-polls police crackdown on protesters saw more 6,700 people arrested, hundreds wounded and two people dead.

With pressure growing from the street and abroad, Lukashenko has reached out to Russia and Moscow said yesterday it was ready to provide military help if needed.

European governments have condemned the election and police crackdown, and EU ministers on Friday agreed to draw up a list of targets in Belarus for a new round of sanctions.