BNC Demands Early Presidential And Parliamentary Elections

Mikalai Statkevich believes that the Belarusian current power is illegitimate.

The Belarusian National Congress (BNC) continues the campaign under the slogan Power to the People!.

The BNC calls to join a mass rally on March 25, 2018 – on the centenary of the proclamation of the Belarusian People's Republic’s independence. According to the preliminary plan, the rally will start at Yakub Kolas Square in Minsk. Belarusian National Congress leader Mikalai Statkevich told Belsat about it:

– The main event c of the Power to the People! campaign will take place on March 25, 2018, is this true?

– The Belarusian National Congress is carrying out the next stage of its Power to the People! campaign, which we started more than a year ago. This stage will be devoted to the struggle against the authorities’ attempts to solve the problems of the Belarusian economy through the robbery of people. The main event of this campaign will be held on the 100th anniversary of Freedom Day. The rally will start on Yakub Kolas Square on March 25.

– Why is there a need for a new Power to the People! campaign? Why is it necessary today? In your opinion, how realistic are the demands for early parliamentary and presidential elections? Will the authorities listen to them? It seems that even Europe is not ready for confrontation with Minsk.

– The campaign has been on for more than a year. Early presidential and parliamentary elections are our basic demand. But the different goals of the Power to the People! campaign lead to various additional demands. The today's stage is based on various social demands.

We demand from the authorities not to solve economic problems and refund money via stupid taxes on "parasitism", raising fees for utility services and similar solutions. The reason for our problems is that we have illegal power. In fact, we have a gang in power. They are the people, whom nobody elects, they organize fake elections, and appoint themselves. In fact, you can talk about the occupation of the country by a gang. And we want to return Belarus to the law and legal power peacefully. This is possible with early elections of the parliament and the president.

Only we need our country. Apart from the Belarusians, no one will solve this problem. We can only be hampered, as we are hampered by the Russian government, which finances the power structures of the Belarusian regime. Now the governments of some European countries have joined them, they try to restore Lukashenka’s legitimacy that he has lost in the eyes of the Belarusian people. They try to return him to a high level, giving him preferential loans.

But I will say it again: only we ourselves! Only by putting pressure, through peaceful protest rallies. We stand for peaceful changes. They are possible only through mass public rallies and street pressure. Anyone, who says that peaceful changes will come if "to go and wag the tail in front of officials," is a liar and a buffoon.