Belarus (MNN) — Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko visited a factory in Minsk Monday and was booed and heckled by workers who chanted “Leave!” in unison. Many people have turned against him after a suspiciously one-sided election result. Read more here.
Sunday saw the largest protest in the history of Belarus as citizens gathered to demand Lukashenko be removed from office. Even the state’s media walked out in protest.
Adam, a Christian worker in Belarus, says Christians in the country were very concerned, even before the election. “For about two and a half to three weeks prior to the presidential elections, there were some, ‘men in black’ so to say, walking around from church to church and talking to people and finding out what people’s opinions were. Sometimes they were dressed in plain clothes so as to not be recognized. [They were] just getting a general opinion of what [would happen] during the election.”
Adam says Christians have avoided talking about politics before and after church, even in their own homes.
More protestors in Belarus on Sunday, August 16. (Homoatrox / CC BY-SA) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
The scene in Belarus
Adam describes the situation in Belarus as Christians see it. “As I have been in contact with some people, I asked about general things. One was, ‘How was church? How was the baptismal ceremony?’ And everything was fine, almost no restrictions. But in bigger cities, people [would] rather not go out because there are demonstrations and there are screams and yelling and shouts.”
Adam says people have been protesting both against Lukashenko and for him. “The country administration asked all kinds of official people from the boondocks to come into the capital and demonstrate for the president. [These people] would very much like to stay in power. But the people who would rather see some changes, their demonstrations have been about 10 times as numerous.”
Christians in Belarus want to see peace come to the country. Adam encourages listeners to ask God to bring peace and keep the people safe. Pray also that Christ will work in the hearts of the people of Belarus, and that justice will flow over the country and its government.
The header image shows the protests in Belarus on Sunday, August 16. (Photo by Homoatrox / CC BY-SA) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
