Street Actions Around The World Against Dictatorship in Belarus!

( March 18th, 2009 )

Street actions against Lukashenko's dictatorship are to take place in many cities around the world on March 18, 2009

The events are timed to the anniversary of Lukashenko's election victory in 2006 which is not recognized by the international community. The protest is organized by Brussels-based international political non-governmental organisation the JEF-Europe (Young European Federalists) and their partners.

Organisers of the actions explain that it is dedicated specifically to Belarus, the last dictatorship in Europe. In more than 100 cities people are to protest against the unjust regime and demand the struggle against dictatorships to become one of the priorities in the foreign policy of the European Union.

"On 18 March 2009 European youth will remind our leaders and civil society that Europe is not a dictatorship-free continent," the JEF-Europe stresses.

They underline that the Belarusian dictatorship exists for 15 years, but the EU hasn't had clear policy towards the situation in Belarus. EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels confirmed their decision NOT TO IMPOSE (?!) visa bans on Belarusian officials. And it sounds real strange. Why did they do that? So the authorities can rig the results of the elections and nobody gets punished for doing that? Do they do the same it in other European countries? Why only people in Belarus need to suffer from unwise EU decisions?

The EU imposed travel sanctions on Lukashenko and 41 Belarusian officials after the presidential elections 2006. In October 2008, the EU foreign ministers suspended visa ban on Belarusian officials, including Aleksandr Lukashenko. Why? The EU ministers agreed to discuss the situation in six month to decide whether to reimpose the ban depending on the human rights situation in Belarus.

None of the positive changes happened in Belarus during those six month! Political repressions in the country have gone wild. New political prisoners have appeared. Leaders of entrepreneurs Mikalai Autukhovich, Yury Lyavonau, and Uladzimir Asipenka were arrested in Vaukavysk in February. "Young Front" activist Artsyom Dubski, participant of the Case of 14, was arrested in February, too. Forceful draft into the army can be observed in Belarus. In spite of medical condition, Franak Vyachorka, Ivan Shyla, and Zmitser Khvedaruk were call up for military service. Human rights activist Yana Palyakova, pressed by the Belarusian authorities, committed suicide. So authorities can kill people in Belarus and then go to Europe on vacations??? WTF!

Rights of opposition activists Alyaksei Bondar, Mikhail Kryvau, Mikhail Pashkevich, Alyaksandr Straltsou, Alyaksandr Charnyshou, Tatsyana Tsishkevich, Mikhail Subach, Paval Vinahradau, Maksim Dashuk, and Alyaksandr Barazenka, sentenced to restraint of liberty for participation in protest rallies of entrepreneurs, remain restricted.

Not only opposition activists but most of the Belarusian people stand for tightening sanctions against the Belarusian authorities. "Brussels must make it clear that freedom of the press and NGOs and above all respect for human rights, especially with regard to the opposition, are prerequisites for any EU gains and EU entry for Belarus officials", Toni Giugliano, Action Co-ordinator wrote.

The cities where the action will take place include not only European ones (Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, Paris, Helsinki, Berlin, Warsaw, Geneva, Stockholm, London, Kyiv, Petersburg, Riga) but also Dubai, New York, Pretoria and so on. As for Belarus, it is said in the statement that the action will take place in the country also, but its place is not disclosed because of security reasons.

Who Needs Lukashenko's Regime to be Rescued & Why?

[ Belarus 2009 ]

Recently among the people mentioned in the oppositional discourse, the ideas like "we should talk with the regime, help them receive loans form the West" are propagandized more and more insistently, Lyavon Barshcheuski writes at the website of the Belarusian Popular Front Party. (the website is closed in 2010)

Why such things should be done? They say that otherwise:

- "the regime would surrender Belarus' independence",

- "our citizens would suffer from the economical crisis",

- "our people won't understand the opposition," and so on and so forth.

It means that such politicians offer to RESCUE - no, not the country's sovereignty, not the interests of our citizens, but the REGIME.

Do not worry, dear sirs; the regime knows how to rescue itself better than we do. It in the same regime that once rescued itself when banned publishing anti-corruption report by Syarhei Antonchyk in most popular newspapers; when the legally elected parliament was deprived of "Narodnaya gazeta" by force.

It was rescuing itself when on April 12, 1995 overnight an order was made to brutally beat up deputies of the Belarusian Popular Front in the Supreme Soviet.

The regime was rescuing itself when wheeling-dealing referendums were held in 1995, 1996 and in 2004.

Hangmen in the government agencies were rescuing themselves, leaving the families of Yury Zakharanka, Henadz Karpenka, Viktar Hanchar, Zmitser Zavadski without breadwinners, and seizing freedom of Mikola Markevich, Viktar Ivashkevich, Paval Mazhejka, Paval Sevyarynets, Mikola Statkevich, Andrei Klimau, Mikola Astrejka, Alyaksandr Kazulin, Andrei Kim, Zmitser Dashkevich, Anton Kishkurna, for a long time.

The regime was rescuing itself adopting unconstitutional repressive acts against freedom of meetings, demonstrations, pickets, against freedom of expression.

The regime counted upon its immortality and indestructibility, when they forcibly changed school and university programs on history, literature, social science, expelled children and teachers of the Belarusian Humanities Lyceum, squeezed the European Humanities University into emigration.

It was rescuing itself, signing commitments to mass media in Minsk and Istanbul declaration with commitments to the world community.

It was rescuing itself selling oil, gas and raw materials to our enterprises at speculative prices, and gagged our intellectuals by millions of rubles from them not to take part in protest rallies in such a deceitful way.

The regime was looking for a way to rescue itself by expelling from educational institutions, firing and blacklisting hundreds and thousands of people only for daring to say aloud what they think.

It was rescuing itself by public sneering at the independent Union of Belarusian Writers, having reduced many of its members to indigence; by illegal imprisonment of Yury Khadyka, Alyaksei Marachkin, Valyantsin Holubeu, Yazep Yanushkevich, Ales Zhlutka; by malicious beating up of Radzim Haretski, Valery Mazynski, Adam Maldzis, Uladzimir Markhel.

Lickspittles who can exist only near the trough were rescuing this regime, hitting on the face of Svyatlana Zavadskaya by a "brave man's hand", compelling young people to join the army though they are not able to serve because of their state of health.

And now it means that we should lend our shoulders to the regime and rescue THEM?!.. Now inept politicians in short trousers are asking: give these people money for them not to perish. Help them, they are poor things, as Belarus won't be able to exist without them: they are leaders of the state, and they allow us to sleep in our house - under the bench.

And maybe someday some of us would be kindly given a position with high salary in their "chamber" or at least invited for a soulful conversation and a cup of coffee with the editor-in-chief of the "correct" newspaper.

There is an old proverb: "While a fatty loses weight, a thin one starves to death". A conclusion could be made: let us not allow the "fatty" (that is, the current regime) become attenuated by hunger, otherwise we all will kick the bucket. It is improper conclusion. "The fat boy" won't lose weight anyway. And what about us? And we can accidentally kick the bucket, if we would listen to such advisers, certainly.

Lyavon Barshcheuski,
the Belarusian Popular Front Party Leader