Tanks and missiles rolled through the streets, military aircraft roared in the sky and thousands of troops marched past the podium saluting the President. Later, columns of costumed schoolchildren stretching as far as the eye could see danced in formation to the tinny refrain of "Belarus! My homeland!" coming from the loudspeakers.
The huge military parade put on by President Alexander Lukashenko yesterday to mark Belarusian independence day appeared designed to show that he will not relinquish control over his country easily. Dressed in full military regalia, and flanked by his six-year-old son wearing a matching uniform, the man who has frequently been called the "last dictator in Europe" gave a speech drawing parallels between the Nazi onslaught which the country suffered during the Second World War, and the current protest movement that his government is facing.
As Belarus has plunged into a severe economic crisis that has halved the average person's spending power in a matter of months, the mood of dissent in the country has grown. Yesterday evening, around 1,000 people gathered in the square in front of Minsk's main train station, in the latest of a long line of "silent protests" organised through the internet.They simply stood still and clapped their hands, but this didn't stop the police from moving in violently, arresting young and old and throwing them into green military vans. Hundreds of irregular youths in plain clothes and earpieces again set on the crowds, punching and kicking those who offered resistance and at times using tear gas.[...]
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