Dozens arrested in Minsk at demonstrations against Lukashenko

Dozens of female demonstrators were arrested today at a protest in Minsk where they once again demanded the resignation of the authoritarian president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.

Hundreds of women protested today in the center of Minsk, continuing the wave of demonstrations against Lukashenko, which began after the presidential elections on August 9.

The human rights organization Vijasna said that the police blocked the center of Minsk and arrested more than 80 female protesters, the Associated Press reports.

Some of the arrested were chased by the police around nearby buildings, where they tried to hide, Vijasna said.

Belarus has been hit by a political crisis since the presidential election, when mass anti-government protests broke out across the country, triggered by official vote results showing Lukashenko winning more than 80 percent of the vote.

Despite the authorities' efforts to quell the protests with arrests and repression of demonstrators and activists, there are no signs that the demonstrations are abating.

Lukashenko drew further ire from protesters on Wednesday, when an unannounced inauguration ceremony was held for his sixth term as head of state.

Lukashenko's main opponent in the election, Svetlana Tihanovska, who went to Lithuania immediately after the vote, praised the protesting women and criticized the behavior of the police.

"And what about men who hide their faces and use force against women? Is it possible to live peacefully with such men," asked Tihanovskaya.

Lukashenko will speak before the United Nations General Assembly tonight.

It is expected that his address to the UN will further inflame tomorrow's protests in Belarus, according to AP.

Until now, the largest protests in the country were organized on Sundays and, according to estimates by non-governmental organizations, there were up to 200.000 people.

Lukashenko (66), who has ruled Belarus with a firm hand since July 1994, with repression of the opposition and independent media, accuses Western countries of inciting the protests.