About 4,000 people ignored the instruction of authorities to hold the rally in a park away from the city center, and instead they gathered in downtown Minsk Wednesday. Witnesses say the protests were peaceful and officials did not try to disperse the crowed.
Rights groups say at least two opposition activists were detained.
The rally came on the anniversary of the short-lived first independent Belarusian republic formed in 1918. Demonstrators called for greater democracy and human rights in the country.
