by famous Gomel musicians, representatives of informal youth movements. 29 June Hundreds of people gathered in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to protest against the rule of Alexander Lukashenko. Unlike previous demonstrations, the protesters this time just simply applauded. It was not long before people were forced onto police buses, and about 40 were detained. 3 July On Belarusian independence day, about 3000 demonstrators took part in a "clapping protest" in the main square of Minsk, in which protesters clapped instead of chanting slogans. Plain clothed police later came, and arrested many protesters, including a one-armed man for clapping, and a deaf mute accused of shouting anti-government slogans. Lukashenko and the state police were awarded the 2013 Ig Nobel Peace Prize for these actions. Following the protest on 3 July 2011, activists widened their tactics of civil disobedience, including distributing videos of police brutality to random citizens, in order to help bolster sympathy against the authoritarian aspect of the government. 13 July Hundreds of people showed up in Minsk with cellphones set to go off at 8 am, in gesture to tell people to "wake up". Several dozen people were arrested by the police. Reaction The government began blocking social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. On 29 July, the government banned assemblies and gatherings, making them illegal. See also Belarusian presidential election, 2010 Jeans Revolution Orange Revolution List of protests in the 21st century References Belarusian opposition Protests Belarusian Protests in Belarus