BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

10/09/2007

Belarusian Police Arrest Opposition Activists Near Site Of Historic Battle

Police detained several dozen young opposition activists in eastern Belarus on September 8 and 9 to foil their attempt to mark the anniversary of a major historic battle, Belapan and RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported. The planned festivities, with the participation of Belarusian singers and poets, were expected to begin on September 8 on the bank of the River Dnyapro near Orsha, where a 30,000-strong army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led by Hetman Kanstantsin Astrozhski, defeated an 80,000-strong Russian army on September 8, 1514. Since 1994, the Belarusian Popular Front and other opposition groups observe the Battle of Orsha anniversary as Belarusian Military Glory Day. An RFE/RL correspondent reported that some 200 people managed to avoid road blockades and detentions and gathered on September 9 at a village near the battle site. JM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/09/3-cee/cee-100907.asp

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