Belarusians Burst with Anger Seriously

Tens of thousands of people plan to take the streets on March 25.

The March of Angry Belarusians held on February 17 in Minsk, despite predictions of skeptics, has not become a single action and the tension is increasing. February 26 angry Belarusians held protest actions in Vitsebsk, Brest, Baranavichy and Babruisk. Pinsk promises to take the streets on March 11, and marches will take place across the country on March 25.

Kastrychnitskaya Square of Minsk was filled with five thousand people on February 17. That has been the most crowded action since December 2010 - the time of mass repressions caused by fraud elections. Now it looks like a real "Belarusian spring" starts: marches of angry Belarusians took place in Homel, Mahilyou, Hrodna, Vitsebsk, Brest on February 18 and 19. Homel took the floor with three thousand people on Vosstaniya Square. Meanwhile, Vitsebsk had only a few hundreds.

But this weekend Vitsebsk residents showed their teeth - two and a half thousand people took the streets.

Babruisk used to be an inactive town and clunky Internet-meme with the population of more than 200 thousand of people. 1500 people took part in the protest action there. That has not happened before.

These protests differ from those that used to be before. The stated purpose is the revocation of a humiliating Lukashenka's decree on parasitism that binds everyone unemployed to pay to the state. But participants had other requirements. They shouted out popular slogans "That'll do" and "Lukashenka, go away!". They told about the economic gap, high prices, unemployment, slavery contract system, inability to pay for education and hopeless future for their children in Belarus.

"If Lukashenka ruined the entire economy, he did the same to the policy. Go away!", people chanted.

The other difference from previous protests is the readiness to express their protest on public. Earlier, ordinary citizens, especially those in the capital, were scared to speak on camera and voice recorders. Only organizers, opposition politicians and activists spoke on public and participants only chanted "Long Live Belarus!". Now participants themselves are looking for journalists to say "Lukashenka, that'll do!" By the way, they address to him in an official way.

Perhaps, the main thing is a complete absence of organizers in Vitsebsk, Babruisk, Baranavichy. There were no applicant parties. No one took responsibility, notified city officials, handed out leaflets, and urged people to do anything.

Here are a few quotes from residents of Vitsebsk: "We are against Lukashenka! My family and I have no relation to the decree. I just stand against it, because of the future of my grandchildren." "Lukashenka is not the leader! He ruined everything. What does work properly now?"

"There is no job. A husband does not sleep next to his wife, but in a carriage on a Russian construction site. It's a shame!"

"Vitsebsk used to be a great industrial city. Just take a look on it now. What is the state of KIM, Monolit, Komintern now? Lukashenka, you'd better go away on a good note, or you'll face the hard one.

The police did not intervene. Only three people were detained and drawn protocols on in Vitsebsk. Most likely, it was done by inertia. When there is no direct order, security officials prefer not to interfere.

And there has been no order - Lukashenka left for Sochi on February 15 and "kept a low profile" there. There was a joke that he was allegedly waiting on Vladimir Putin on a ski slope. Before that an official Minsk stated that the decision on the gas dispute with Russia had been found, the only thing left was to witness it at the political level. But Putin did not appear in Sochi, he preferred Kazakhstan and President Nazarbayev. That is, it turns out that Lukashenka wasted money on the trip. And now angry Belarusians are strapped for cash.

Tens of thousands of people plan to take the streets on March 25. They came close with each other.

Iryna Khalip, Novaya Gazeta