Russia must not remain indifferent to the brutal treatment of opposition protests in neighboring Belarus, Russian human rights activists said on Thursday.
Police in Minsk, the capital, detained a group of at least five journalists on Wednesday during an unsanctioned rally against the authorities' economic policies, which have led to a currency crisis in the country. Police have already released the journalists.
"Russia must certainly interfere as human rights violations cannot be just a domestic matter, it is a subject of concern for the entire global community," said Ludmila Alekseyeva, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group.
Belarusian human rights activists said around 450 people were detained in Belarus, a country of nine million, on Wednesday as police dispersed protests across the nation.
Protesters did not chant slogans but only marched along and applauded.
Belarus is Russia's western neighbor run by longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko, 56, whom ex-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called "the last dictator of Europe." Minsk and Moscow have traditionally had strong ties.
"This is why Russia should be the first one to react to what the Belarusian authorities are doing," Alekseyeva said.
The Belarusian ruble has come under severe pressure in the first five months of the year from a large trade deficit, generous wage increases and loans granted by the government ahead of the December 2010 presidential elections, which spurred strong demand for foreign currency.
In spring, the authorities devaluated the national currency by 36 percent, froze prices on some staple foods and introduced fuel rationing to keep the lid on the deepening crisis.
A member of the Russian Public Chamber, Alexander Brod, also called on the Russian Foreign Ministry to make an official statement on the events in Belarus, especially considering that Belarusian police detained Russian citizens among the protesters as well.
"We cannot be indifferent to the developments in the country suffering from a financial and economic crisis as well as high social tensions," he said, adding that an investigation must be conducted into the detention of journalists.
