Mikalai Statkevich: Let’s Defend Ourselves Together

The leader of the Belarusian National Congress speaking about the Outraged Belarusians’ March

Mikalai Statkevich has told charter97.org about holding the Outraged Belarusians’ March on February 17.

- Mr.Statkevich, why did the Belarusian National Congress decide to hold the Outraged Belarusians’ March?

- The regime has led Belarus to the dead-end by its bungling policy — it is approaching the abyss. The gang which grabbed the power appears capable only of ruling a collective farm. However, the big collective farm they created out of the country appeared ineffective. Russia used to pay, Lukashenka thought it would last forever but now the Russians want their military bases placed at our territory in exchange for their money. Do you know what dislocation of two divisions here means? We will be either involved in a war or in a scenario of the Baltic States in 1940 — they placed Soviet military bases in Lithuania, agreed on giving Vilnius away, and in summer the Soviet tanks drove into and the Lithuanian Republic became the Lithuanian SSR. This is the situation we are facing because of Lukashenka.

Today, the dictator is trying to postpone his inevitable end by taking the last belongings from the poor people who are already on the brink of survival. In this situation, the duty of the democratic forces, the real opposition is to protect the people, to help them defend themselves. Mass actions remain the only way we can really affect the authorities. This is the only thing they seem to fear – mass actions in the center of the capital.

That is why the Belarusian National Congress supported the initiative of leader of the Trade Union of Radio-Electronic Industry Workers and Chairman of the socio-economic council of the BNC Henadz Fiadynich on collection of signatures under the petition for the abolishment of the Decree #3. However, we also demand that the tariffs for communal services should be justified, because they will invoice us with abnormal sums now. We also demand they should stop putting pressure on the small business – the source of subsistence of hundred thousand of Belarusians. We decided to help the people, who found themselves in a complicated situation, to self-organize and prevent the authorities from jostling for any longer.

Let them search for money in their own pockets, let Lukashenka start spending his billions, which many independent economists and international experts speak about. Let him share with the people.

Now they are trying to hold the people by the throat, they are forcing the citizens to pay this absurd, illegal “social parasites tax”, and the situation might escalate exactly in February. People often address to me, I heard many desperate stories. That is why we are holding the Outraged Belarusians’ March at 6 p.m. on February 17 in the Kastrychnitskaya Square of Minsk. Before this, we will collect signatures under the petition to abolish this decree for a month. I hope that other opposition structures, which haven’t joined the Belarusian National Congress yet, will show some activity and help people protest publicly.

- Why did you decide to name the action like this?

- Because the people now are very outraged by the authorities. They see that the crisis does not end, Lukashenka’s model has come to a complete collapse and nothing can save it except for reforms, and he remains reluctant to hold reforms because he cannot do anything. In addition, reforms mean giving people freedom. Free economy leads to freedom in politics, so the authorities just can’t do it.

The people have come to the edge, they are starting to realize that nothing good will happen under the rule of these authorities, and changes are necessary.