MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2020) Thousands of people took to the streets in the Belarusian city of Vitebsk on Friday to protest the presidential election results.
A Sputnik correspondent from the northeastern city reported that the protesters headed towards the city center passing by a train station, which brought out about 150 railway employees to join.
The railway employees told Sputnik that they had asked their administration to stage a protest of their own, but the administration was not supportive. The employees then decided to join the passing march, saying that the administration agreed not to stand in the way or reprimand them afterward.
Walkouts from places of work have become increasingly common in Belarus, with reports of various factories halting production as workers stage protests or join ongoing ones.
Mass protests have been ongoing in Belarus since the late hours of Sunday, when the first election results showed Lukashenko secure his sixth term with over 80 percent of the vote, and the opposition challenged the outcome.
The demonstrations have been harshly suppressed by the security forces, with law enforcement officers using tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets on protesters. Thousands of people were arrested and many journalists, both domestic and foreign, went missing.
