MINSK, March 22 (RIA Novosti) - Opposition groups in Belarus are getting ready to hold a major rally Saturday to continue protests against the results of last weekend's presidential elections, an opposition leader said Wednesday.
"March 25 is Freedom Day, and we have to galvanize as many people as possible onto the streets," said Alexander Milinkevich, who garnered an official 6% of Sunday's vote against the 82.6% that saw incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko re-elected for a third five-year term in office.
Freedom Day is an unofficial holiday in Belarus marking the day when the country first declared independence in 1918, until becoming part of the Soviet Union in 1922. The opposition traditionally holds demonstrations on this day.
"We are not going to storm the [presidential] residence on March 25," Milinkevich said on Oktyabrskaya Square in the center of the Belarusian capital, where several hundred protesters had been camping since Monday. "It will be a peaceful demonstration."
He called on Europe to offer stronger and more united support for the opposition.
"Europe's position must be clear and tough," he said.
Milinkevich said he had come to the square to find out what the protesters needed, as the people were lacking in information and warm clothes in sub-zero temperatures.
He said protesters detained during the 3-day rally were denied access to basic packages provided by the opposition.
On Tuesday, the ambassadors of Britain, Italy, Latvia, France, and Germany appeared on the square.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said it would discuss the incident with the ambassadors, spokesman Andrei Popov said.
"We understand that the ambassadors were on the square near the opposition rally as observers," Popov said, adding that the ambassadors were obviously preparing to report to their governments about the situation in the former Soviet republic.
"We hope the reports will be unbiased," he added.
The United States and the European Union have called for a re-run and said they were considering imposing sanctions against Belarus, while Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose union of ex-Soviet republics, have said Sunday's elections were free and fair.
Belarusian police said the number of "unsanctioned" protesters was dwindling and dropped to 200.
