Large demonstrations against President Lukashenko planned for Sunday

The opponents of controversial President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus have called for new mass protests across the country on Sunday.

In a video clip, opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya called on her fellow Belarusians to continue fighting for a country in which it is worth living in the so-called "March of Justice."

"Every week you show yourself and the world that the Belarusian people are a force," the 38-year-old said from exile in the European Union.

The demonstrations are scheduled to begin around 1 pm (1100 GMT) at various locations across the country.

According to observers, around 150,000 demonstrators took to the streets last Sunday.

On Saturday women had called for Lukashenko's resignation in a protest march. There were more than 300 arrests, the Viasna Human Rights Centre said.

The security forces have recently become increasingly brutal against peaceful demonstrators. Lukashenko, often referred to as the last dictator of Europe, had called for more rigorous action in the event of unauthorized protests.

Since the presidential election on August 9, there have been daily protests in Belarus. Lukashenko had been officially declared the election winner with 80.1 per cent of the vote after 26 years in office. The opposition, however, considers Tikhanovskaya to be the real winner.