Freedom March (Belarus)

Freedom March
Part of the Belarusian democracy movement
Date	17 October 1999 c. 12:00 – 17:00
Location	Minsk, Belarus
Caused by	Impending ratification of the Union State Enforced disappearances of Viktar Hanchar and Yury Zacharanka Authoritarian rule of Alexander Lukashenko
Goals	Primary goals: Ending the process of integration with Russia Maintenance of Belarusian independence Other goals: Release of political prisoners End to forced disappearances
Methods	March
Concessions	Belarusian independence maintained
Parties
Belarusian opposition Young Front Belarusian Social Democratic Party (People's Assembly) Government of Belarus Presidency of Belarus Ministry of Internal Affairs Militsiya State Security Committee
Lead figures
Ales Bialiatski Vincuk Viačorka Anatoly Lebedko Mikola Statkevich Alexander Lukashenko Sergey Ling
Number
Over 30,000 Unknown
Casualties
Injuries	56 police and 100 protesters injured
Arrested	200

The Freedom March (Belarusian: Марш свабо́ды, romanized: Marš svabody) was a 1999 protest by the Belarusian opposition in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The protest was caused as a result of fears of Belarus being annexed into Russia as part of the then-impending ratification of the Union State. Additional concerns of protesters were the enforced disappearances of opposition politicians Viktar Hanchar and Yury Zacharanka and, more broadly, the authoritarian rule of President Alexander Lukashenko. The protest, which ended in a violent confrontation between the city's police and protesters, resulted in the Belarusian government walking back plans for the Union State and the continued independence of Belarus from Russia.