Ales Lahvinets: Discontent Appears Rather High

To make the authorities take a protest action seriously, several thousand outraged Belarusians is enough.

Political analyst Ales Lahvinets has told “Solidarity” about the protest potential on the eve of the Outraged Belarusians’ March.

— Discontent exists, and it appears rather high. I would distinguish the general irritation here with regard to the things the government does, its heartless attitude to the people, who have received "letters of happiness". That is, this decree has caused indignation and protest. It spread not only to those directly affected, because most of us are well aware that no country in the world does anything like that. On the other hand, the question of how great the distance between the discontent and the willingness to hold mass protests is, remains open,” — Ales Lahvinets has said.

The interlocutor has noted that it seems quite complicated to make prognosis with regard to the number of outraged Belarusians coming out to Minsk streets on February 17. Herein, he has presumed that the action might turn more crowded than the previous events, organized by the opposition.

— It’ a hot topic in the first place. We should expect a qualitative leap due to the new people who do not normally participate in the traditional opposition rallies.

According to the interlocutor, to make the authorities fully assess the seriousness of the moods and intentions of the Belarusians, several thousand people coming out to the street would be enough. Ales Lahvinets set an example of the entrepreneurs’ protest actions in 2008:

— Then, several thousand people came out to the avenue, having blocked the traffic for some time. And if today three to five thousand take part in the protest action, it will be a significant indication that people have been seriously irritated and they are ready to protest.

Important to note, the Outraged Belarusians’ March will start at 6 p.m. on February 17 in the Kastrychnitskaya Square in Minsk. The participants of the street action will demand abolishment of the “social parasites” decree.