Police stop and detain Beslan protesters in Moscow
Moscow (AsiaNews/Agencies) Moscow police and special riot units blocked a demonstration in downtown Moscow to mark the second anniversary of the Beslan massacre. About ten participants were detaining.
Russian authorities authorised commemorative events in the town of Beslan itself, scene of the tragedy that left 333 people dead (including186 children), but banned activities in Moscow and other parts of Russia.
Victims' families continue to accuse the security forces of provoking the reaction of terroristswho held a thousand people (teachers and pupils) hostage for three days in a school laid out with explosivesby their reckless behaviour.
A group of Beslan mothers openly accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of covering up what really happened.
The unauthorised Moscow rally took place in Lubyanskaya Square, where the former KGB building stands. Some 80 participants angrily protested but were dispersed by police. Ten of them were taken into custody.
Another unauthorised rally was held in St Petersburg and here, too, the police broke it up arresting some of the participants.
In Moscow the only ceremony allowed was a meeting between Putin and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Aleksij II in which the president thanked the Orthodox Church for what it did to help the population in their "inconsolable sorrow".
In Beslan ceremonies went off without a hitch. Bishop Feofan of Stavropol and Vladikavkaz conducted a memorial service last Sunday in the gymnasium of School №1 in Beslan. Then, in memory of the 333 children and adults who perished in the terrorist act, 333 white balloons were released into the air.
Radio stations in North Ossetia broadcast requiem music throughout the day.
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