Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 13 June 2017

Thousands rally across Russia in new challenge to Kremlin

for repeated violations of “Change is always good,”
the law on public gather- Sukhoruchenkov said, add-
ings. ing that he and his friends
“The geography of rallies were concerned about
was amazing, and so many corruption — Navalny’s ral-
people came out,” Na- lying cry — that “manifests
valny told reporters shortly itself in all areas: from traf-
before he was sentenced, fic police to university pro-
point to protest rallies held fessors.”
in towns which have not Navalny had called the
seen any public show of anti-corruption demon-
discontent for decades. strations, and they drew
The demonstrators ap- crowds of several dozen to
peared to skew predomi- the 10,000 in St. Petersburg.
nantly younger — those Some of the rallies were
who were born or grew sanctioned by authorities
up during Putin’s 17 years and peaceful, but police
in power. Similar crowds cracked down brutally on
turned out on March 26, others.
rattling officials who had Although it was not imme-
perceived the younger diately clear if Monday’s
Police detain a protester during a demonstration in downtown Moscow, Russia, Monday, June generation as largely apo- protests were larger than
12, 2017. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, aiming to repeat the nationwide protests that litical. those in March, they un-
rattled the Kremlin three months ago, has called for a last-minute location change for a Moscow Three 16-year-old girls derlined the deep dismay
demonstration that could provoke confrontations with police. brought sheets of paper with the government. Putin
(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
to the Moscow protest is expected to seek anoth-
By NATALIYA VASILYEVA the most prominent in a onstration featured an un- and sat on the pavement er term in 2018, and Naval-
JIM HEINTZ string of more than 100 likely scene of about 5,000 to write the articles of the ny has already announced
Associated Press rallies in cities and towns protesters rallying next to Russian Constitution on his intentions to run.
MOSCOW (AP) — Tens of stretching through all 11 of an enclosure with geese, them; a nearby group of Moscow officials had
thousands of protesters Russia’s time zones — from a medieval catapult and teenagers climbed atop of agreed to allow Navalny’s
held anti-corruption rallies the Pacific to the Europe- bearded men in home- a tent with posters saying, rally, but late Sunday, he
across Russia on Monday an enclave of Kaliningrad made tunics and carrying “Corruption kills the future.” said official interference
in a new show of defiance — with many denouncing wooden shields. Other protesters scaled a had prevented contrac-
by an opposition that the President Vladimir Putin. The re-enactors watched scaffold and hung a sign tors from erecting a stage
Kremlin had once dismissed Thousands of angry dem- the rally before riot police saying, “Only revolution will at the agreed-upon venue
as ineffectual and margin- onstrators thronged to Tver- broke up the crowd and defeat corruption.” and instead urged demon-
alized. skaya Street, a main ave- randomly seized the pro- School and university staff strators to gather on Tver-
More than a thousand nue in the capital, chanting testers. who reportedly reprimand- skaya Street, which was
were arrested — including “Down with the czar” and Over 800 people were ar- ed their students for at- closed to traffic for the Rus-
opposition leader and pro- singing the Russian national rested in Moscow, while in tending the March protests sia Day festivities.
test organizer Alexei Na- anthem. St. Petersburg, about 500 warned them against go- Most of the Moscow pro-
valny, who was seized out- The protests coincided with were forced into police ing to Monday’s rally. testers appeared to be
side his Moscow residence Russia Day, a national holi- buses at an unsanctioned Ivan Sukhoruchenkov, 19, under 30, although there
while heading to the rally day that this year brought rally that drew up to 10,000 attended anyway with four was a sizeable number of
in the city center and sen- out historical re-enactors, people. Navalny was taken university classmates to middle-aged people and
tenced to 30 days in jail some of them dressed in to court Monday evening protest what he described couples with children.
several hours later. medieval costumes. At one and sentenced to 30 days as “stagnation of the politi- With opposition sentiment
The Moscow protest was point, the Moscow dem- in jail shortly after midnight cal system.” strong or even growing,
Dutch coalition talks between 4 parties fail again authorities appear to be
seeking a strategy to un-
dermine the opposition
THE HAGUE, Netherlands coalition is not possible. tions, and opens the pos- Mark Rutte, the Christian without provoking more
(AP) — An attempt to The announcement Mon- sibility of a minority coali- Democrats, the centrist animosity.
breathe new life into talks day evening by Herman tion. D66 party and pro-envi- Authorities allowed the
between four parties to Tjeenk Willink means that The announcement came ronment Green Left party. unsanctioned rally to pro-
a coalition government the Netherlands still has after days of informal talks Earlier talks between the ceed, although riot police
in the Netherlands has no immediate prospect of involving election winner parties collapsed mid- cut the crowd in half and
failed, with the veteran a new government nearly the People’s Party for Free- May due to differences in began pushing the lines
negotiator leading explor- three months after March dom and Democracy, or their stances on migration while grabbing some peo-
atory discussions saying a 15 parliamentary elec- VVD, led by Prime Minister issues. ple from the crowd.