Svetlana Rjeousskaia, far right, listens to speeches during a protest for democracy in Belarus held at Nathan Phillips Square yesterday. (Astrid Poei, 24 hours)
A wave of political clashes in Belarus have sent ripples all the way to Toronto.
More than 100 people gathered in front of Nathan Phillips Square yesterday to support democracy in the European nation.
The protest comes just as world leaders are making moves to set up sanctions against an illegal Belarusian government and raids in Minsk that saw at least 200 protesters jailed, including a Canadian freelance journalist.
"That's why we're here," Dmitry Elyashevich, chairman of the Belarusian Canadian Alliance, who organized the event, said. "We're trying to raise our voice today ... I'm happy with the response. This event was quite ad hoc because of events in Belarus in the last few days."
Last week, riot police armed with clubs clashed with supporters of failed presidential candidate Alexander Milinkevich in Minsk's Oktyabrskaya Square.
The demonstrators had been squatting for four days in protest against President Alexander Lukashenko's alleged falsified victory.
Since the arrests, Elyashevich said there have been a number of similar protests in cities such as Paris, Brussels and Warsaw condemning Lukashenko's appointment.
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