On Monday afternoon, Belsat got numerous reports about buses carrrying security officers and policemen to the centre of the Belarusian capital. Eyewitnesses also spotted a lot of special vehicles, including prison trucks and water cannons.
Apparently, the authorities are taking measures to prevent spontaneous protest rallies on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
According to Belsat.eu readers, at least three paddy wagons, two buses and 14 tinted-windowed vans left Uruchcha residential area (north east of the city) for downtown Minsk. Convoys of vehicles which were full of troops were seen near the Peoples’ Friendship Park.
“They [police] started to stop [bystanders] and check out their bags and phones in Yakub Kolas Square and not far from the Central Department Store (TsUM),” one of the messages reads.
Water cannons, vehicles transporting barbed wire, even the Rubezh defensive system are known to have entered Minsk.
Earlier, a number of Telegram channels urged Belarusians to mark the sad anniversary by going to churches and light candles in memory of Chernobyl victims there. It is not ruled out that the police and authorities have increased their vigilance in light of those calls.
