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In Western countries, street protesters are treated far more badly than in Belarus, president Alyaksandr Lukashenka believes.
Belarusian state-run media are constantly trying to confirm the leader’s words by showing photos and footage of foreign police beating protesters and using tear gas and weapons against them.
“They should take a look at what kind of democracy is practiced in Western countries. Brussels, London, Paris, and Germany saw bombs, poison, tear gas, water cannons, and police batons only recently,” Lukashenka responded to the critical voices from the USA and the EU after the brutal crackdown of the peaceful protest in Minsk on March, 25.
However, if we compare the authorities’ attitude to the street protests in our country and in the West, a fuller picture is beginning to emerge.
In February-March, there has been an eruption of protesting the so-called ‘parasite’ law in Belarus. Hundreds of Belarusians were detained, fined, jailed after recent non-parasite marches. Most of them were accused of violating the order of holding mass events and disobedience to police officers’ demands. It should be noted that plainclothes policemen who refuse to show their IDs a or introduce themselves often beat people and prevented journalists from performing their professional duties.