MINSK. March 10 (Interfax) - Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) Chairman Ivan Tertel has reported plans of the attempts at destabilizing the situation in Belarus in the course of protests scheduled for March 25-27.
"We know for a fact that attempts at destabilizing the situation in the country will be taken in the period between [March] 25 and 27. The scenario is being prepared abroad with the participation of individuals, who have left our territory earlier," Tertel said on the Belarus 1 television channel.
The authorities intend to take harsh measures in order to prevent destabilization in the country. "We will act firmly, in accordance with the law," Tertel said.
To the authorities' knowledge, there are plans "to gather people for an unsanctioned part of the event, to bring them to the streets and to organize provocations, in which average citizens may be hurt or some kinds of emergencies may happen," he said.
"An official application will be filed for holding an event on [March] 25, people are expected to gather on Yakub Kolas Square and march towards a site in the vicinity of the Opera and Ballet Theater, after which people will take to the streets in an uncontrolled manner in response to calls from the known Telegram channels, and there will be a provocation aimed at clashes with law enforcement officers. Harsher scenarios involving third parties and damage to the health of people, citizens staying in that area, including on the site of those events, are also possible," the KGB chief said.
There is yet another scenario, which envisages the application for holding official events near Bangalore Square, "which will develop into an unsanctioned emotional demonstration in the central parts of the city, where actions of law enforcers will be provoked," he said.
"The third scenario envisages, in the absence of permission for the application, monitoring the situation ... orientation at house chats and coordinators, who would call for unauthorized actions, clashes with law enforcement officers in the central part of the city," Tertel said.