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Crisis in Belarus

Belarus’ coordination council insists on returning to 1994 constitution

A member of the council Pavel Latushko recalled that former presidential candidates had already applied to the country’s Supreme Court to recognize the August 9 presidential polls as invalid

A member of the Belarus’ coordination council Pavel Latushko Nataliya Fedosenko/TASS

A member of the Belarus’ coordination council Pavel Latushko

© Nataliya Fedosenko/TASS

MINSK, August 23. /TASS/. Belarus’ opposition coordination council insists the country return to the 1994 constitution, which set the upper limit of presidential terms, Pavel Latushko, a member of the council, said during a mass protest rally in Minsk on Sunday.

"We insist on a national referendum on that matter," he stressed.

He recalled that former presidential candidates had already applied to the country’s Supreme Court to recognize the August 9 presidential polls as invalid.

He also called for forming initiative groups to recall all the members of the House of Representatives, or the lower parliament house, and lawmakers of local legislatures.

According to Latushko, the coordination council plans to demand resignation of the interior ministry’s top officials for not opening criminal cases on the 700 cases of the use of force by the police against civilians who have turned to the Investigative Committee with complaints.

Sergei Dylevsky, another member of the council who represents the strike committee of the Minsk Tractor Plant, also addressed the protesters and called on workers of industrial enterprises to continue strikes.

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