Sannikov’s team gains the right to canvass in city center

Activists of Andrei Sannikov’s campaign refused to do the authorities’ bidding and gained respect for their lawful rights.

As one can notice, agitation campaigns in Minsk and in regions differ significantly. While the list of places for agitation was extended in Minsk on the demands of the opposition, members of presidential candidates’ teams in the regions still have to agitate on the outskirts and in deserted places.

The executive committee in Baranavichy and the local territorial election commission permitted agitation only in deserted places of the city, in the Park of the 60th Anniversary of the USSR, in the pubic garden named after Soviet Union Hero Stepanishchau, in the public garden near the memorial to victims of regressions, etc.

Viktar Myazyak, an activist in the team of presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, refused to hold senseless agitation in these places and applied to the Baranavichy city executive committee on November 23 for conducting pickets in the most crowded sites of the city: October Cinema, Palesski and Tsentralny markets, Raduga shopping center, the Park of the 30th anniversary of Komsomol. The oppositionist wrote in his application that the Minsk city executive committee had allowed canvassing for candidates in the city center. He says that if this is not the facade of free elections, but real free election, as Alyaksandr Lukashenka is constantly stating, agitation should be permitted in central streets of other towns.

The activist took his agitation poster and went to October Cinema, where stood for some hours calling on dwellers of Baranavichy to support Sannikov. Some police officers were watching the picket but didn’t take any actions.

In the morning November 24, Viktar Myazyak received a call on his mobile phone and was told to come to the territorial election commission. He got a warning for violation of the rules of conducting agitation campaigns. In response, the oppositionist told commission chairperson Latyshava that it was the right of the executive committee, not the election commission, to choose place for agitation. Myazyak went to the executive committee and demanded to consider his application. Dzmitry Kastsyukevich, the deputy head of the executive committee responsible for ideology, answered it would take some time to consider the issue and offered to wait for some days.

Myazyak preferred not to wait and moved to October Cinema in the city center to canvass for Sannikov. A few ideology officers of the executive committee and an agent of secret services came to him and threatened with administrative responsibility for holding an unauthorized picket.

“I told them order of the Minsk city executive committee on choosing the places for agitation was considered a day after Sannikov’s team had submitted it. That’s why they should stop intimidating me and should wait for a decision of the authorities,” Viktar Myazyak tells charter97.org website. Later, the ‘supervisors’ phoned to someone and went away.

On November 25, when Myazyak was about to hold an ‘unauthorized’ picket, he was invited to the executive committee. The deputy head handed in a ruling allowing Dzmitry Myazyak to carry out agitation pickets for Andrei Sannikov in all the places of the city he asked.

“I am sure that activists of Sannikov’s campaign in all regions of Belarus will follow my example. I call on people not to fear but act: demand, gain respect for our lawful rights. We should not do the bidding of the dictatorship. The officials know they violate the law and the Constitution, so if you are full of determination you always win,” Viktar Myazyak said.