Thousands of people have defied a ban to protest in Belarus against a so-called "social parasites" tax on the under-employed, despite hundreds being detained by police.
Riot police stand ready during an unauthorized protest in Minsk over the tax on those employed less than 183 days a year, labelled "social parasites" by the government. Photo: AFP
Belarus authorities detained hundreds of people on Saturday during an attempt to hold a street protest in the capital Minsk.
Protesters shouted "fascists!" at riot police. Dozens of activists and journalists have been arrested.
Hundreds of police were deployed to block off access points to the square where the protests were due to take place, a reporter at the scene said. Nearby metro stations were closed and three water cannons kept on standby.
Police earlier also raided the offices of Vesna-96, an opposition group, and detained about 60 activists, although they were later released, Vesna-96 said.
Saturday's demonstration was the latest in a wave of protests since February that pose the biggest challenge in years to President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state with an iron fist for nearly a quarter of a century.
Riot police arrest a man at the protest. Photo: AFP
The tax which triggered the protest applies to citizens working less than 183 days a year, locally known as a law against "social parasites". Belarussians said the tax unfairly punished those unable to find work.
Mr Lukashenko suspended the tax this year but insisted it would not be scrapped.
Belarus has also been in recession for the past two years, suffering knock-on effects of an economic downturn in Russia and a sharp fall in oil prices. The hardship has brought even former Lukashenko supporters onto the streets.
Mr Lukashenko earlier this week accused a "fifth column" of plotting to overthrow him with the help of foreign-backed fighters. On Friday he built on this theme, saying "someone wants to blow up the situation, and they use our scumbags".
It was unclear as yet how the crackdown on the protests would affect relations with Belarus's neighbours. Mr Lukashenko has sought to improve ties with the West against the backdrop of cooling relations with ex-Soviet master Russia.
He has pardoned several political prisoners, spurring the European Union to lift sanctions against a country once described by the United States as "Europe's last dictatorship".
