The official May Day meeting in Hrodna was finished by police truncheons. A detachment of riot police with truncheons, in helmets and with shields, forced out from the traffic lane people who blocked the passage of public transport in the Socialist Street. An elderly woman-pensioner left lying on the asphalt, because one of the riot policemen pushed her in the chest violently. The woman was taken to a hospital by an ambulance. It happened five hours after the meeting on Labor Day in Hrodna started.
The meeting started on 10 a.m. in Minsk, with brass band music and optimistic speeches of the leadership of the city and region in the Lenin Square.
In the middle of the crowd four white-red-white flags, registered flags of independent trade unions were wavering. They were brought by more than a hundred of workers of the largest plant of the city, “Hrodna Azot”. After them went about two thousands of small traders from Hrodna markets, who carried posters with slogans: “Everybody is equal for the law”, “Long live Labor”, “Lukashenka Must Resign”. They were whistling loudly, so the optimistic speeches were hardly heard, they were shouting: “We need work!”, “We need salary!”, were making noise by covers of empty metal pans.
The official celebration was terminated hurriedly, the officials left, but about 3000 of people remained standing in the square, shouting and demanded to cancel licenses for retail trade, to stop confiscations in the markets. About 150 riot police officers lined up and were not allowing the crowd to the city executive committee. Only four women, representatives of the traders, were given permission to negotiate with the city authorities. In an hour they came out of the building and said that Alyaxandr Antonenka, chairman of the city executive committee, promised not to implement sanctions against those who would not be able to receive a license in May. This information incensed the people, as the problem was not solved.
The mass moved to the building of Lenin District police department in the Telman Street, were a detained leader of the All-Nation Businessmen Strike Committee Valery Levanewski was kept. Police lined up and did not let the people to the building of the department. The crowd, shouting “Freedom!”, turned to the Socialist Street and blocked the traffic. And at that moment an armed riot police detachment appeared and started to force people out of the street. lllll
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