Journalists from REN-TV channel filmed the scenes of how the protest in Minsk was being dispersed. On Monday, they received the authorization to film for two hours. A reliable source informed us that “they filmed the wrong people” and related a piece of advice coming from Belarusian special forces: don’t leave the hotel. The journalists took the source and the “missive” seriously.

Basically, the REN-TV cameramen were filming the beginning of the demonstration in front of the Government House. One of the cameramen, absolutely incidentally, found himself between the glass door and the protestors and his camera focussed on the faces of the mighty agents of the special forces, covered with masks, who were professionally breaking the thick glass of the door with their fists. Immediately afterwards, Belarusian special forces arrived and started beating with baton and without any mercy all the ones that got into their hands: demonstrators, journalists or simple passers-by. It is said that they had also beaten the agents of the local KGB (Russian Committee for State Security), which didn’t manage to pull out their badges on time.

The REN-TV film has been widespread on the Internet (it can be easily found by typing “The true story of the Minsk protest”) and has been viewed on YouTube by a great number of people.

The opponents and Minsk authorities were ready for the opposition’s action of protest as it had been widely promoted. Nobody expected, though, such a great number of people to take to the streets of Minsk while waiting for the election results. The most optimistic predictions were talking about a number between 3,000 and 10,000 people. In the end 40,000 people gathered together and the Independence Square, 360 meters long and 120 meters wide, was fulfilled by the crowd of people of different age and status.

Direct testimonies give images of the opposition lost for the huge number of the protestors and trying to improvise a plan of action. They led the crowd from the Oktabr’skaja Square, through the Independence Alley to the Independence Square, where the leaders gathered everyone and tried to organize a meeting. One of the opposition leaders, presidential candidate, Vladimiri Nekljaev was beaten while trying to reach the recording studio van.

Andrej Sannikov (another leader of the opposition and presidential candidate) was crying out loud that the opposition will try to negotiate with the authorities… At that point it was a clear provocation and through the coordinated control, the soldiers and the national security troops, already waiting and ready to go, entered in action. We can claim with certainty that the action was not supposed to free the Independence Square from the crowd but it was supposed to destroy every opposition outbreak in Minsk.

631 detainees. These are the official numbers of the protest from the 19th December. With such an activity of the special forces in the background, other numbers seem insignificant, including the percentage of the votes that the generous Central Elections Committee presented to the president Lukašenko.

They are now separating the detainees into “administrative” and “criminal”. Judges issue dozens of arrest orders and trails are being simplified: a judge, a secretary and a defendant. Not only are there no advocates present but not even the prosecutors. All this is being transmitted by the Belarusian television.

The “criminals”, opposition leaders, are not being shown. The parents of our correspondent, Ira Chalip, waited for twenty four hours to get some information from the prison. Ira’s mother, Ljuciana Jur’evna, tells us:

“I didn’t go to the demonstration because I was home with my grandson, Ira’s son Danja, who is three years old. The night of the 19th December, Ira called and said that they were going to the ER in a taxi because Andrej Sannikov had been beaten (Irina’s husband and one of the presidential candidates). That was exactly the moment they stopped them. Then, at 3 a.m., Ira called from someone’s cell phone and said that she was in a cell full of people, to the limit that some detainees had to pass the night in the squad car because there was not enough place for everyone. She then called me around 9 in the morning from her cell phone. She told me that they had given her back her belongings, that she was in a squad car and that they were evidently transporting her somewhere. Since then, I had no news, even though, according to the law, they were supposed to keep me updated on my daughter’s situation within twelve hours from the arrest. I called the Ministry of the Interior and I was told that Ira was in some tribunal and that she was being prosecuted on administrative charges. I called all the tribunals that responded to the phone call but I didn’t find Ira. Later, at 17:00 on Monday, a KGB investigator, Maksim Mironov called me. He cut all my questions and said: «Irina asked me to tell you to find an advocate. Call the KGB cell service agent and ask what you can bring to your daughter». That was all he said.”

I got to know very little from the advocates that had been obliged to sign a declaration of non-dissemination of information. The wife of the responsible of Sannikov Daša’s press office gives “consoling” news: “The advocate says that Andrej has no concussion but he was beaten very hard and his leg aches. He can’t stand on his own nor walk. He is strong, though and he told me what he needs you to bring him to prison”. After having received this information, Ira Chalip’s mother “bursts”: “Thank goodness! I didn’t want to show you the pictures from the arrest, where Andrej is all covered with blood. I was ready for the worst!”

Those two elderly women sigh in relief and sob. They can’t cry, though, as the three year old grandson is sitting on the couch.

Alla Vladimirovna calls Nataša Koljada, Svobodnyj theatre’s director. This theatre group is widely known in the West but in Belorussia it exists in the shadow. It’s a political theatre and world famous western scriptwriters make part of it. Hollywood stars like Siena Miller and Jude Law act there.

All theatre actors were arrested in a very programmed way, as members of a subversive group. The opposition’s website Charta-97 journalists got arrested as well. Only Nataša and the artistic director, Nikolaj Chalezin, managed to hide themselves. We would like to meet them but Nikolaj tells me: “We’re trying to hide from the whole country”.

“Yesterday, they were probably looking for Nikolaj here – says Ljucina Jur’evna – He’s a friend of Ira.

“Who looked for him?” We ask.

“I was at home, yesterday and I heard someone turning the key in the keyhole. I understood that he was trying to open the door but it was closed with the safety catch. I looked through the peephole: there was a group of people in plain clothes, yet strangely identical. I asked: “Who is it?” They answered “Police, open”. My husband cried not to open and they discussed how to break down the door. I opened. They entered, showed no warrant, wandered around the whole apartment, it felt like they were looking for someone. Now I think that they were looking for Kolja Chalezin. They kept searching as my husband, the father of Ira, loudly cursed Lukašenko. I thought that they would take him away, too and that I would remain alone with Dan’ka but they searched the apartment and then left. While leaving they said: “Goodbye, your husband is absolutely incorrigible”.

The servants of the state said nothing about who they took the keys from, Ira or Andrej.

PS: The Belarusian television has been showing for three days the roughly edited news program, dedicated to the events of 19th December. The ex-candidates for president and now obviously also ex-opponents, Romančuk and Tereščenko appear as prosecution witnesses, name three opposition leaders: Sannikov, Statkevič and Nekjaev and admit to having prepared violent actions aimed at taking over the power. As for our correspondent Ira Chalip, Romančuk said that “she had beaten her husband” (i.e. Andrej Sannikov). Romančuk reads these accusations from a piece of paper. As he reads them, for a few terrifying minutes, his face remains “in the foreground”.

They show, then Romančuk together with Lukašenko. Romančuk intercedes for Lebed’ko, his companion from the United Civil Party. He got arrested, as well. Lukašenko promises to clear things up and gives a pat on the back to Romančuk. “It’s the first time that someone asks me for something that is not for himself but for a friend”. As we were explained afterwards, Romančuk didn’t intercede without a clear aim. He’s trying to keep his party alive, which, in a cleaned political scenario, would have no rivals.

This anti-spot finishes with scenes from the demonstration, in front of the Government House, which the journalist calls “the museum of the night protest”. With the broken glass doors in the background, we can see piles of building tools, from shovels to screwdrivers and small axes. The journalist says that the Belarusian opposition tried to lead the negotiations in the Country with these exact “weapons”.