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Belarus Activists Arrested Before Planned Protest

by Associated Press

   Riot police in the Belarusian capital have raided the office of a
   human-rights group hours ahead of an attempt by opposition activists to
   mount a large protest march.

   Authorities banned the demonstration planned for Saturday afternoon and
   dozens of police detention trucks were deployed in the center of Minsk.

   The authoritarian former Soviet republic has seen an unusually
   persistent wave of protests over the past two months against President
   Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled since 1994. After tolerating the
   initial protests, authorities cracked down. Lukashenko this week
   alleged that a "fifth column" of foreign-supported agitators was trying
   to bring him down.

   About midday Saturday, police raided the office of the Vesna human
   rights group. About 30 people were detained, said Oleg Gulak of the
   Belarusian Helsinki Committee, another rights organization.