Naftan scared by sanctions

The trade union of “Naftan” threatens Viktar Ivashkevich for appeals to impose sanctions.

The authorities have set workers against oppositional politicians who urge the EU to impose large-scale economic sanctions against Belarus, as they think only such measures could make the Belarusian authorities release political prisoners from prisons, “Narodnaya Volya” writes.

A menacing statement on behalf of 12.5 thousand workers is published by today’s “Vestnik Naftana” newspaper.

“The trade union of chemical industry on numerous occasions stated that the campaign for boycott of the Belarusian goods and imposing economical sanctions has an anti-national nature, and it would affect not only workers of industrial enterprises, but also workers, doctors, teachers, pensioners, other citizens who need social protection of the state.

Due to strenuous daily work of the city’s primary taxpayer Naftan, decent conditions of work and rest are ensured not only for our workers, but for many dwellers of Navapolatsk, the region and the country in general. And those who take liberties to make such statements should realize that.

However an address of the co-chairman of the Council of People assemblies’ representatives Viktar Ivashkevich to governments of European countries was published on the web on March 14. He urged them to immediately ban transporting and buying of Belarusian oil products at their territories. In their turn, we bindingly confirm that in case economic sanctions by the European countries are imposed, it is to cause decrease in revenues of the enterprise, decrease of production and number of employees, and as a result would bring about insufficient receipt of returns guarantees by the collective contract to the employees, and in accordance with Article 19 of the Law on Trade Unions we reserve the right to file a suit against Ivashkevich, Uss (a former presidential candidate), Kalyakin (the chairman of the Leftist Party “Just World”). Atroshchankau (a coordinator of “European Belarus”) and other “activists”, urging to impose sanctions against enterprises and to boycott Belarusian goods, for compensation of losses to Naftan workers.”

Recently mighty forces of propaganda have been employed to present the actions of opposition as anti-national ones. By all appearance, the statements of Naftan trade union will be the first, but not the last among similar statements. It looks like the authorities have found a simple way to explain why Belarusians’ standards of living are getting worse all the time, and who is to blame for that. Propagandists are openly trying to pit workers against opposition. And they do not have answers for simple questions: “What threat do the former presidential candidates Andrei Sannikov and Mikola Statkevich, who are imprisoned now, constitute for common people?” and “Why the Belarusian authorities are ready to continue keeping them in prisons, even when it results economic sanctions for the country?” They are scared even to ask such questions.