Belarusian police on Tuesday launched sweeping anti-riot drills ahead of January’s election in which authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko is seeking a seventh term, a signal from the authorities that they wouldn't tolerate any protests.
Interior Minister Ivan Kubrakov said that the exercise is intended to train the country's police force for blocking “any manifestation of extremism and terrorism” and prevent any "attempts to draw citizens into unlawful actions and any violation of public order.”
Belarus’ opposition-leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya denounced the drills as a dress rehearsal for another round of brutal crackdown on dissent.
