Belarusian Amendments Protested

About 10,000 protesters marched across the Belarusian capital Saturday, condemning constitutional amendments introduced by President Alexander Lukashenko as dictatorial.

The peaceful march came a day after police clubbed, beat and detained scores of people who gathered to protest Lukashenko’s authoritarian rule.

Lukashenko won a Nov. 24 referendum that gave him nearly unlimited power in this former Soviet republic and effectively allowed him to rewrite the 1994 constitution. But despite his huge margin of victory and overall popularity, thousands attend regular protests organized by the opposition Belarusian Popular Front.

The opposition and leading international organizations say the referendum was tainted by fraud and unconstitutional.