Belarusian Protests Against Tax On Jobless Continue

Protesters in the Belarusian cities of Babruysk and Vorsha condemned a controversial government-backed unemployment tax on March 12. In Vorsha, authorities tried to disrupt the rally with music from loudspeakers installed at the site. Also in Vorsha, police detained a group of opposition leaders and at least three journalists. The demonstrations were the latest in a series of rallies against a 2015 tax that authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said was needed to fight what he called "social parasitism." (RFE/RL's Belarus Service)