SCW NEWSWATCH: "Police crack down on protests as longtime Belarus leader set for landslide election win" - Reuters 8.9.20

"Belarus police fired water cannons, tear gas and stun grenades in a crackdown on protests ... as President Alexander Lukashenko was set to claim another election win in the face of the biggest challenge in years .... Thousands ... took to the streets of Minsk .... [L]ocal media reported detentions and clashes between police and protesters in other cities. ... [F]ormer Soviet collective farm manager ... authoritarian Lukashenko has ruled ... since 1994 but has battled a wave of anger over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the [Soviet-style] economy and his human rights record. ... Foreign observers have not judged an election to be free and fair in Belarus since 1995. ... A harsh response to new protests could hurt ... attempts to mend fences with the West amid fraying ties with ... Russia ..."

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