Belarus: Belarus authorities yesterday confronted pro-democracy demonstrators occupying October Square in the capital, Minsk, demanding that they move.
The group of 2,000 protesters refused orders to leave the square, which they have declared a "liberated zone" after city officials backed by riot police arrived in the afternoon.
The city officials said they only wanted access to drains running under the square.
Three blue water trucks drove up to the protesters who linked arms and refused to move away from their tented encampment on the snow covered square.
Anastatia, an 18-year-old student, said the protesters would not be budged. "We are not leaving. This is harassment. Already many of us are in trouble with our university directors for being here but we intend to stay."
For the fourth night running a crowd of about 10,000 amassed around the encampment, which has a day complement of about 2,000. They sang songs and shouted slogans demanding Sunday's presidential election, won by Alexander Lukashenko, be run again.
President Lukashenko, who insists his 82 per cent of the vote was fair despite criticism from observers, has so far held back on sending riot police to clear the square.
But the protesters say the government is trying to squeeze them out.
Several dozen police arranged around the square were searching bags and confiscating food found inside, with the demonstrators claiming the government wants to cut their supplies.
They said that yesterday's action by water workers resulted in access to a sewer which is the only toilet in the camp being cut off, causing extra hardship for those inside.
State TV broadcasts have accused the demonstrators of being hardline agitators and have claimed they are smuggling vodka into the camp, something the protesters deny.
Opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich has called for a mass turnout on the square this Saturday, but protesters have yet to convince a large majority of the population to rally to their cause.
Some analysts say president Lukashenko's tolerance of the demonstrators may be the result of pressure from key ally Russia, which does not want to upset President Vladimir Putin's presidency of the G8 group of leading democracies with violence so close to home.
"There have been reports that Putin called Lukashenko ahead of the vote and warned him that the use of force was unacceptable," said Yaroslav Romanchuk of Strategy think tank.
President Lukashenko, whose rule in Belarus is associated with relative stability, is popular at home and some analysts suggested that he played the game to score political points.
"Lukashenko, who can dissolve the rally any time, is keen to show he is not afraid of the opposition," Oleg Manayev, the head of independent Institute of Social and Political Studies, said.
Additional reporting Reuters