Well, week 11 in Belarus and no clear resolution. It looks like this could drag on for a while. They did put up tens of thousands (maybe 100,000) protestors on Sunday and did start strikes on Monday. It does not appear that the strikes are universal. To quote from a couple of accounts:
BBC News (bolding is mine):
“Workers at some state-run plants downed tools and chanted slogans outside the gates.”
“The full scale of the protests on Monday is not yet clear, partly because of the authorities’ media restrictions.”
“A source in Minsk…told the BBC that the strike was affecting some major state enterprises…but they had not been brought to a standstill.”
See https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54684753
ABC News (bolding is mine):
“But on Monday, while some workers did strike and a sizable protest took place in the capital of Minsk, it did not appear that strikers had been joined by significant numbers of workers at the massive state plants that are critical to Belarus economy.”
P.S. On the morning of 13 October Svetlana Tikhanovksaya, the main opposition leader, issued out a statement:
“The regime has 13 days to fulfill three prerequisites:
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Lukashenko must announce his resignation.
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Street violence must stop completely.
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All political prisoners must be released.
If our demands are not met by October 25, the whole country will peacefully take to the streets with the People’s Ultimatum. And on October 26, a national strike of all enterprises will begin, all roads will be blocked, sales in state stores will collapse.”
P. P.S. The picture of the detained protestor is from last month, I just happen to like it (“Beauty and the Beast”). She was identified over twitter (@A_Sannikov) as Natalia Petukhova. The arresting officer has not been identified. Picture came from @svirsky1 via @XSovietNews
