Protests, data leak keep pressure on Belarusian president to step down

In Belarus, more than 100,000 people marched through the capital of Minsk on Sundayduringthesixth straight weekend of protestsagainst President Alexander Lukashenko.

Protesters, who are pressuring the veteran Belarusian leader to quit, walked in a vast columnstretching severalkilometres, many decked out in red-and-white opposition colours andchanting "go away" as helmeted riot police patrolled the streetswith water canons, a witness said.

Several protesters were dragged away from the crowd bysecurity forces. In the city centre, riot police rhythmicallybeat their shields as a warning sound while several people threwglass bottles at them.

The eastern European country was plunged into turmoilfollowing a presidential election last month that Lukashenkosays he won by a landslide but the opposition says was rigged.

The former Soviet collective farmmanager has been in power for 26 years andhas shown little inclination to resign, buoyed by supportfrom Russia.

The European Union vowed weeks ago to impose sanctions onMinsk for alleged election fraud and human rights abuses, but islikely to miss its own Monday deadline for action.

Police data leaked

In tandem with the protests, anonymous hackers leaked thepersonal data of 1,000 police officers in retaliation for acrackdown in which thousands of people have been detained. Many say they were beaten and tortured in jail.

The government has denied abusing detainees.

The loyalty of the security forces is crucial toLukashenko's ability to cling on to power. Their faces are oftenobscured by masks, balaclavas or riot helmets. Some protestershave torn the masks off some officers.

"As the arrests continue, we will continue to publish dataon a massive scale," said a statement distributed by theopposition news channel Nexta Live on the messaging appTelegram. "No one will remain anonymous even under a balaclava."

The government said it would find and punish thoseresponsible for leaking the data, which was widely distributedon Telegram channels on Saturday evening.

"The forces, means and technologies at the disposal of theinternal affairs bodies make it possible to identify andprosecute the overwhelming majority of those guilty of leakingpersonal data on the Internet," said Olga Chemodanova, thespokespersonfor the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Russian interests

Minsk reacted angrily on Saturday to reports that SviatlanaTsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate in last month'selection, could soon meet EU foreign ministers.

Russian foreign ministry spokespersonMaria Zakharova alsocriticized the EU for inviting Tsikhanouskaya to the ministerialmeeting as well as for considering sanctions against Minsk,saying Brussels was trying to "rock the boat" in Belarus.

Russia sees Belarus as a strategic buffer state against theEU and NATO, and has accused the United States of fomentingrevolution in its neighbour.

Moscow agreed to give a $1.5 billion USloan to prop upLukashenko's government following a meeting between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Belarus will channel about $330 millionUS of its new loan tocover its outstanding debt to Russian gas giant Gazprom, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was quoted byTASS as saying.