Despite the unequal forces in the clash with the government, Belarusians are still fighting for freedom. President Alexander Lukashenka, called by his countrymen “a self-proclaimed man”, uses all the means offered to him by the system he has created over the past 26 years against the democratic opposition. On Friday, he assured that the situation in the country would soon be taken over by him.
“There are still places in Minsk where someone doesn’t like something. However, this should not bother you, it is my problem that I should solve and we are currently solving. Believe me, the matter will be settled in the coming days, ”he announced.
The president of Belarus also presented his own vision of reality to citizens, threatening them with an uncertain future and a potential threat from the opposition. “I am the president. God forbid our country will fall apart – you will have no job. Damn all these titles and positions, I sit and think: what will happen to you when they come and start sharing everything? You will curse me and ask: ‘We chose you, why didn’t you protect us?’ This is my biggest worry right now. (…) As long as I am the president, I will continue my strict policy aimed at stabilizing the situation in the country.
The Kremlin has announced the readiness to support Alexander Lukashenka and to bring order to Belarus.
“If the Belarusian side expresses such a wish, Russia, understandably, will do everything possible to regulate the situation,” Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. The Russian president’s spokesman also added that Russia did not intend to judge the conduct of the Belarusian authorities and the mass-scale criminal cases. “It is a matter for Belarus,” he said.
Belarusians are organizing
Despite these threats and growing pressure from the authorities – strikers are threatened with dismissals, deprivation of employment in another company and criminal proceedings – Belarusians do not give up and are increasingly involved in a bloodless revolution. When I ask Paweł, a 30-year-old resident of Minsk, an IT worker whom I meet on Independence Square, how, in addition to strikes and peaceful marches, they intend to fight the Lukashenka regime, I receive a whole list of grassroots initiatives and guidelines.
They include: withdrawing all savings, especially currencies, from banks to prevent the state from trading these funds; buying a currency (dollars or euro) to take advantage of the falling exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble; refusal to pay taxes and any fees that could enter the state budget and fund siloviki; refraining from buying alcohol and cigarettes in order to deprive the state of excise tax profits; not accepting money from foreign business partners for the purchased goods until further notice.
– This is the most peaceful and safe form of protest and the overthrow of the regime. We want no more blood to be shed. The bankruptcy of power is a better alternative – explains Paweł. At least one of the methods mentioned by Paul seems to be used on a larger scale. You can already feel the lack of currencies in the Minsk exchange offices – on Friday I managed to find dollars only at the sixth consecutive currency exchange point. “Everyone wants to buy dollars today,” the currency exchange clerk tells me.
Belarusians also organize to support compatriots who have lost their jobs for political reasons. The BYSOL solidarity fund has published information which shows that over the last dozen or so days it has managed to collect over 1.5 million dollars. The human rights defender of the Wesna organization, Andrei Striżak, who is also the coordinator of the fund, explains to me: – About 200 people contacted us. More than half of them are people who knowingly quit their jobs as part of the strike, the rest are those who were dismissed for political reasons. I hope that more people will come to us and that they will keep each other informed about our fund. There is nothing to be afraid of. If Lukashenka stays, you can change your business, and if not, return to your old job.
Intimidation of the opposition
At the same time, these rebellious moods are trying to suppress the oppressive system of Belarusian power. Friday morning began in Minsk with interrogations at the headquarters of the investigative committee of representatives of the Belarusian opposition, including the lawyer of Wiktor Babarika’s staff, Maksim Znak, dismissed from the post of director of the They bought Paweł Latuszko and the strike leader of the Minsk tractor factory MTZ, Sergei Dylewski. The interrogators were supported by the inhabitants of Minsk who gathered in large numbers in front of the committee, chanting: “One for all, all for one!” Those leaving the audition were greeted with applause. After several hours of interrogation, Znak turned to the audience: “I cannot say what the interrogation was like. I have no right to make the information public. Thank you for your support.
The creators of the opposition’s coordination staff, including Nobel Prize laureate Sviatlana Alekseevich and the chief of staff of Viktor Babarika, Maria Kolesnikov, threatens up to five years in prison. The prosecutor’s office initiated criminal proceedings against the representatives of the staff, accusing them of wanting to cause chaos and destabilization in the country.
The investigative committee is also prosecuting ordinary citizens who do not agree to the rigging of the election results, the continued rule of Alexander Lukashenka, the siloviki violence against peacefully protesting citizens and the intimidation of striking workers. On Friday, they were warned, among others drivers who, during the most dangerous and brutally pacified protests, tried to block the road or deliberately create a traffic jam, to prevent representatives of the law enforcement agencies from reaching the protesters in the streets and squares.
“The investigative committee draws drivers’ attention to the fact that the creation of obstacles in road traffic, the creation of barricades, blocking points or the use of other means preventing free movement is prohibited and may result in prosecution,” we read in the statement, which also shows that up to three years imprisonment for this reason even threatens 16-year-old citizens.
More protests in Minsk over the weekend
The authorities are also trying to prevent journalists from doing their jobs. The Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, which decided to include photos of the most mass protests and stories of people who experienced violence by siloviki on its cover, did not go out in print for the third time. “Dear readers, we were unable to print our newspaper. In the printing house – once again – the equipment broke unexpectedly, ”we read on the journal’s website.
Repressions against strikers are also ongoing, and many factory workers have decided to return to work, despite their continued opposition to Lukashenka’s rule.
– I would like to go on strike, but for the last ten days I was in jail as a result of my arrest during the protest. I do not have any financial cushion, and the manager is threatening to dismiss all those who start to deal with politics in the workplace, says Andrei, an employee of the tractor factory. The real consequences have already met Dmitry Kudelewicz, chairman of the strike committee at Bielaruskalij, who was detained by the KGB on Thursday. Kudelewicz miraculously managed to escape through the window from the service headquarters, simulating an exit to the toilet. He is currently in Ukraine.
At the same time, the authorities are organizing meetings in support of Alexander Lukashenka. According to the TUT.BY portal, the Belarusian authorities in Brest have provided the following information: “Whoever disagrees, let him terminate. It should be 100 percent. attendance”.
The opposition is also preparing to take to the streets again. On Saturday, a women’s protest is to be held in Minsk, and on Sunday – the second freedom march.
– It’s hard to say what it will end up – but I’m afraid the authorities will tighten the screw again – tells me Alexander Bielikov, a local activist arrested several times during rallies.
The EU’s failure to recognize the results of the elections in Belarus and the announcement of sanctions received a reaction from the foreign minister, Vladimir Maki. “At the first difficult experiences you want to impose sanctions. You confirm that you stand on the side of all those who believe that our country’s sovereignty is impossible” – he said.
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