Protests and Strikes May Start across the Country

The situation reminds that in the end of the 80s.

There are few supporters of Lukashenka. Amid the crisis the government has decided to return Decree No. 3 and taken a drastic increase of housing and utility tariffs since January 2018. At the same time, Belarus was stirred by a tragedy with a soldier in Barysau Pechy. The case of Aliaksandr Korzhych caused a chain reaction - the Belarusians stopped being silent and began massively publishing stories about hazing in the Belarusian army. Obviously, a protest is maturing in the society and it has already been announced that workers of the Polatsk Steklovolokno plant intend to go on strike since January 1.

What will be the nature of further protests in the country and what can the situation be compared with in today's Belarus? The representative of the Belarusian National Congress in Slonim Viktar Marchyk answered questions of Charter97.org.

- Workers of Polatsk Steklovolokno declared a strike until the end of the year. And what is the situation for workers of enterprises in the traditionally prosperous Hrodna region?

- There is no "prosperity", the economic crisis has equalized all regions of Belarus.

Every day I hear the extreme discontent with power. There are no doubts that abstract reproaches do not make any sense. Everyone knows who is to blame.

Someone promised to "launch factories," and 80% of enterprises in our region are either on the verge of bankruptcy or are barely keeping afloat. Salaries dropped, people either are fired or given additional work for the same money. Many perform several types of work.

All of them, of course, are not ready to go on strike. There will always be a layer of people who try to hide behind backs of others: we're not satisfied with power, but we wait until it is clear whether protesters succeed. It is noteworthy that there are fewer of them. The category of people ready to take the Square, the streets is getting bigger. The situation is somewhat similar to that in the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s: only a small spark is missing to launch protests and strikes.

People are almost ready to burst. If the situation deteriorates a little, they will rise not fearing that they can loose their jobs. The country has come to the edge: these earnings can no longer be called salaries, people are about to have nothing to lose. Soon the "salary" will be enough only to pay rent bills. "It is better to throw back shoulders than to work for pennies", more and more acquaintances think.

We have recently met with farm workers in the Zelva district. Milkmaid have received settlement sheets. Their "net" salary is less than 200 rubles. It's about 90 dollars! So we have salaries as in the early 1990s. Prices and a housing and communal tariff rates are growing. People are simply shocked. Social upheaval will certainly happen and people will take the Square.

- The most sound topic now is hazing in the Belarusian army which became public after the tragedy in Pechy. There is the 19th mechanized brigade and other parts in your city. Do people discuss the death of Aliaksandr Korzhych? Are you ready to protest against arbitrariness in the army and in the entire system of power?

- People are well aware of the problem and are very indignant. There is a point and I adhere to it - this is not hazing but banditism and crime.

When I served in the army, there was also hazing but it differed: "young" soldiers had to clean barracks and some other things. Such methods that happen now were not practiced. Perhaps, the important factor was that we constantly had weapons with us: I served in a separate assault combat battalion of reconnaissance. We spent a lot of time on mountain exercises and always had weapons with us. If a "grandpa" went mad, he could get a bullet in his head.

Now soldiers serve for a year and a half and actually see a gun one time during their service. Belarus requires a contract army.

And it is right that on October 21 the Belarusian National Congress decided to hold the March of Angry Belarusians 2.0 not only with social demands, but also under the slogan "Let's protect our children!".

- Do you think that it is necessary to participate in the March to ensure non-reoccurrence of the Pechy case?

- Exactly. Active protests is the only remedy for these cases. Let's look at the experience of other countries: it's enough for a policeman to accidentally shoot at a person, it causes the rise of thousands people. Those who are guilty in scandalous cases resign at once. The society is active there.

Only this method is effective. In any country. Just take a look: if there had been no rise of public after the incident in Pechy, the case would have been hushed up.

If there are enough people who appear on the Square, we will make the authority to to listen to us and make some figures resign. The March of October 21 is mandatory for participation.