MINSK, 17 August (BelTA) - Any unauthorized rally can lead to a stampede and loss of life, Belarus' Internal Affairs Minister Yuri Karayev said at a rally on Independence Square in Minsk on 16 August, BelTA has learned.
“Any crowd is a potential Nemiga tragedy. We just all relaxed ad got used that all our mass events are always guarded by the police. All entrances, exits, and evacuation are planned. We do not want to repeat the Nemiga tragedy when riot policemen and internal troops soldiers died saving people in a stampede as crowds of festival goers raced to the Nemiga metro station for shelter during a thunderstorm. Any unauthorized mass is a danger of a crowd, a stampede,” Yuri Karayev said.
He drew attention to the need to work out security corridors, places of evacuation and to divide the entire space into security and control sectors. “Did those taking to the streets have coordinated these issues with us? No. They are using the whole situation to start a mess," the minister said as he spoke of the unsanctioned rallies.
