Anatol Liabedzka: There Are More And More Of Us

The protest rally of sole traders has become the antidote against fear, instilled by the government.

Anatol Liabedzka, leader of the United Civil Party, said that in an interview to charter97.org website, commenting on a large-scale protest rally of sole traders against the Decree №222.

– Anatol, in what way is today’s action different from previous protests of sole traders?

– Today there were several thousand people at the square, and it is an absolute breakthrough. It has become more extensive – people from the regions were more active than in the capital. This means that Minsk has great potential.

I would say that today's action has expanded the space of freedom. You could say it has become the antidote to the fear-filled syringe, which the authorities impose on people.

People came and found out that there can be a lot of them, there were no arrests and beatings.

– Participants stated that they would hold another rally on February 22. Who else except sole traders should join it?

– Everyone: me, you, our neighbours… It is not exclusively the problem of sole traders. If the economic model is a bankrupt, it touches upon the vast majority of population, with the exception of the top officials, perhaps. It does not affect Lukashenka and it does not influence the family budget of Miasnikovich. But the vast majority of citizens are to pay. Now it is very important to realize, that there are no specific problems of sole traders, that all problems are our common problems. The authorities are to be accountable, they should bear responsibility for the things they do, and we should have a possibility to influence this authority, including its replacement.

I hope that on February 22 everyone is going to bring 3-4 persons with him, and then there would be much more people, who are to show discontent with the current economic situation.

And everything suggests that. The government is not a Santa Claus, they cannot solve all the problems which had been accumulated over 20 years, in a week. They have created the economic model, which turned out to be a total deadend, and it means only one thing – the future is to be even worse. It motivates people to overcome their fear and fight for their rights. There are preconditions for more people to come in a week.

– Are you personally going to support people in the square on February 22?

– Sole traders and we are of one blood. And notably, we offer a completely different economic policy, a system-level reforms programme called A Million Of Working Places, and it means prospects not only for sole traders, but for the vast majority of people, who want to have a decent life and earn money honestly.

– To your mind, what is the most important result of the today’s rally?

– There are more and more of us, and there is less and less fear.