3 July 2011
Last updated at 12:30 ET
Mr Lukashenko said he would not allow his government to be overthrown
Speaking at a military parade in Minsk, President Lukashenko said their goal was to reduce Belarus’s independence “to zero” and bring it “to its knees.”
His speech came after weeks of unprecedented protests.
Activists say an opposition group’s page on a Russian social media site has been blocked to stop further protests.
Mr Lukashenko was addressing a large crowd during independence day celebrations marking the end of Nazi occupation in 1944.
He said he viewed public protests as part of a plot to overthrow him.
“(Somebody) is trying to copy a ‘coloured revolution’ scenario here,” he said, referring to protest movements in ex-Soviet republics such as Georgia and Ukraine in 2003-2004.
“We understand that the goal of these attacks is to impose uncertainty and turbulence, to destroy public consent and in the end to put us on our knees and to bring all the achievements of our independence down to zero. This is not going to happen.”
Protests are rare in Belarus where the authoritarian rule of Mr Lukashenko has led to sanctions by Western governments.
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These are clearly illegal actions undertaken to prevent the protest actions called for on the internet”
End Quote
Stanislav Shushkevich
Opposition member
Demonstrators had been urged to attend the celebrations and start clapping as soon as Mr Lukashenko began his speech.
At least one person who began clapping was quickly led away by plain-clothes police, Reuters news agency reported.
The opposition has held a series of internet-organised marches known as “Revolution by Social Networks”, in which protesters do not carry signs but instead walk through the streets clapping in unison.
The group’s main page on a Russian social media site was blocked on Sunday, with activists saying it was a deliberate attempt to stifle their efforts.
“The authorities are making a titanic effort to break the wave of civil protests,” wrote opposition website Charter 97.
Valentin Stefanovich, from rights group Vesna, said the government had detained dozens of activists while others had been called in by the security forces and warned not to protest.
The day was also marked by a military parade in the capital
Those arrested included Stanislav Shushkevich, the first post-Soviet leader of Belarus and a strong opposition supporter, but he was later released.
“These are clearly illegal actions undertaken to prevent the protest actions called for on the internet,” Mr Shushkevich told AFP news agency.
Last month, about 1,000 people gathered in Minsk to take part in a “silent protest” over the economic crisis organised via social networking sites.
In December 2010, authorities cracked down on protests against alleged vote-rigging in the general election.
International monitors said the contest, in which Mr Lukashenko officially won 80% of the vote, was deeply flawed.
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