Clinton Calls For Solidarity With Belarus Activists

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for solidarity with protesters in Belarus, a day after Minsk detained some 150 people demonstrating against the regime and a worsening economic crisis.

Speaking in the Hungarian parliament building in Budapest today, Clinton said established democracies must "share their experience with the newly arrived democracies of the Middle East and North Africa, and to show solidarity with those in the streets in Belarus, in Libya, and around the world."

Later today, Clinton travels on to Vilnius, Lithuania, for a gathering of the Community of Democracies, where she is also expected to urge European countries to increase the pressure on the government of Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

Some 30 people are appearing in court in Minsk today over the June 29 protest.

The Internet-driven demonstration featured no speeches or slogans; instead, some 1,000 demonstrators walked slowly through city streets and signaled their discontent by clapping their hands as sympathizers in passing cars honked their horns.