Prosecutor’s office demands explanation from entrepreneurs
8- 5.11.2008, 11:13
On November 4 the leader of the association “For Free Development of Enterprise” Viktar Harbachou was summoned to the Prosecutor’s office of Barysau and Barysau region.
The senior prosecutor Iryna Pashkevich has demanded to provide explanations concerning his interview published in the press and at websites over the last month. He was charged basing on articles printed from websites ucpb.org, camarade.biz, tut.by, BelaPAN the website of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Russia, and from the newspaper “Komsomolskaya Pravda”.
As said by Viktar Harbachou, he said there that since the beginning of the next year 120,000 entrepreneurs of Belarus will stop their existence if the authorities won’t review legislation concerning them. He underlined that entrepreneurs will defend their rights, and forecasted repetition of street protests like the year before.
As the ucpb.org website was informed by Viktar Harbachou, the authorities saw sedition in his words. The prosecutor’s office demanded to explain in which way the entrepreneurs plan to defend themselves, and what protest rallies are planned. “The fact, the event hasn’t taken place yet, there are only thoughts, and they want to bring me to responsibility for them already,” the leader of market vendors said. I have expressed my point of view, I have a constitutional right for that (Article 33). The problem exists, and it should be solved. It should be solved by collection of signatures, pickets, strikes and so on (Article 35). Entrepreneurs should decide that themselves in their places, each in his own way. If the regime won’t listen to entrepreneurs, then I think they do not exclude such a variant as taking to the streets”.
Viktar Harbachou was interrogated in the prosecutor’s office for two hours. After studying the materials he had been presented, he is to give written explanations on November 10. As said by him, he views the summons to the prosecutor’s office as the regime’s fear and an attempt to prevent protest rallies through intimidation of entrepreneurs.
