Freedom Day in captivity

The celebration of the Freedom Day in Minsk ended with the arrests of the participants of the opposition manifestation.

Several thousand people gathered to celebrate the 95th anniversary in Minsk on 24 March. Minsk city executive committee only allowed the participants of the Freedom Day procession to gather in the center of the city near the October cinema and traditionally sent the column to Bangalore square – further away from the capital’s main streets.

Despite the frost, absence of a wide information campaign and preventive arrests of oppositionists around 2 thousand people attended the action, according to the organizers’ estimation.

Several civic activists had been arrested on the eve of the action on alleged accusations. There were detentions in the regions too, where people were detained either on the way or right in their apartments before leaving for the capital.

In order to get to the place of the gathering near the October cinema people had to go through radio-metal locator and a search by riot police. Part of the site was fenced with tourniquets. There were policemen with megaphones in metro underpasses. A journalist of Nasha Niva Tatsiana Haurylchyk was arrested (and then released in an hour) for attempting to film them. Police vans were in an intimidating watch by the cinema.

Judging from the banners, not only the 95th anniversary of Belarusian People Republic’s proclamation was the main theme of the action, but also the topic of political prisoners in detention. Many participants of the manifestation had portraits of Dzmitry Dashkevich, Mikalaj Statkevich, Mikalaj Autukhovich, Ales Bialatski, the arrested anarchist activists. There were pictures of the kidnapped and murdered in t Belarus opposition leaders – Viktar Hanchar, Yury Zakharanka, Anatol Krasouski, Henadz Karpenka, a journalist Dzmitry Zavadski.

The city authorities forbad using “unregistered symbolics” at the action. What falls under that definition is only clearly known to policemen, that is why Belarusians came out to celebrate the Freedom Day under the national white-red-white flags. We would remind that the national historic flag of Belarus has been actually forbidden in the country since the referendum of 1995 on the change of the state symbols, initiated by Lukashenka. Flags of the European Belarus and Belarusian Christian Democracy party were also raised during the manifestation.

The duality of the action was also emphasized by the slogans, chanted by the participants: Long live Belarus! and “Freedom to political prisoners!”. One of the novelties of the actions was that the participants sang Lapis Trubiatskoj’s song on the verse of Janka Kupala “Not to be cattle” and launched fireworks.

The meeting in Bangalore square, where representatives of oppositional parties and movements made speeches, was also fenced with tourniquets. In order to get to the meeting people had again to undrgo the humiliating search procedures.

Nevertheless, the organizers give positive assessments to the action.

“More people came than last year. A large number of national flags streamed in the wind, we took an agreed route. I estimate the number of participants at two thousand”, - a coordinator of the European Belarus civic campaign Viktar Ivashkevich told in an interview to charter97.org.

He added that people would continue the celebration at home after the manifestation since the organizers did not manage to rent premises.

“The people, who came to the manifestation, did it consciously. These are active, conscious citizens. And those, who sit at home and follow the manifestation on the internet, should think – it is not late to join us not to regret later. I would emphasize that in the coming days, most likely on Tuesday, there will be a press-conference of the Freedom Day’s organizational committee, at which we will sum up the event and with the final assessment”, - Viktar Ivashkevich concluded.

A well-known human rights activist Valer Shchukin noted, that police did everything they could for as few as possible people gather for the Freedom Day manifestation.

“The authorities allowed to gather before a cinema with a fairly revolutionary name October. Police made a pen, where maximum of 150 people could fit, and also metal detectors were installed there. All the people, who came, could not physically fit in there that is why the majority stood behind the fence. There were busses, a mine clearing car and dozens of cars packed with policemen”, - the human rights activists noted in an interview to charter97.org.

He also emphasized that he did not participate in the procession to Bangalore square.

“The organizers congratulated everyone on the holiday and the column started moving. I left the action at that moment since I do not go to Bangalore on principle. I would add that I liked seeing mothers with their children and also a large number of young boys and girls, who came to celebrate the Freedom Day, who need freedom”, - Valer Shchukin concluded.

A co-chairman of the organizational committee of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party Vital Rymasheuski is also satisfied with the procession and the meeting of the occasion of the Freedom Day, despite the police provocation.

“The site in front of the October cinema was assigned a gathering place, which was covered with ice and had construction works being carried out nearby”, - the politician said.

In an interview to charter97.org he emphasized that despite the threats of punishment for using posters and banners their number was fairly large.

“The number of participants was no less than last year. People brought pictures of the disappeared politicians and also the political prisoners, who were behind bars on that day. Everyone was in a festive mood. I like seeing people, whom a have not seen for long and those who have very recently joined active political participation”, - Vital Rymasheuski summarized.

After the action in Bangalore square the arrests of the procession’s participants started. Groups of young people were detained at bus stops or in the McDonald’s located nearby.

“Journalists led the event’s organizers to the cars so none of us was detained. However an order was given to detain people after the action in a silent way. That is why several groups of young people have already been detained.

I think those are rat methods. In front of journalists I warned one of police high officials that law enforcement agencies will be held responsible for arbitrary detentions. There were no grounds for detentions, that is why I consider this to be a spit in the face of the European Union, which is trying to establish a dialogue with Lukashenka at least in some way. And when the dictator screams that the opposition is to blame for the failure of the relations with the EU, then I would say that those are responsible for that, who unlawfully grab people in street actions, who put people in prisons for political reasons, who is guilty of the disappearances of politicians and of Belarus’ ending up internationally isolated”, - Vital Rymasheuski emphasized.