We'll Hold Up

Lukashenka may be whoever is needed.

He's been hiding in a wardrobe being scared. But there is one more reason for police free and easy life in the days of protests. Do you remember in January he told about cuts of officials by one third? It related to both his personal administration and law enforcement bodies as well. It would be unfair - the Administration is cut, but some damn Ministry of Culture keeps drinking tea with its ordinary staff. Later the Minister of Internal Affairs also told about cuts in the police - he allegedly supports the ruler in his decision on optimization and is ready to do it.

Of course, everyone supports it in words. In fact, every organization would like not only preserve, but increase the number of employees. To create new jobs - new special rations, special tickets, staff cars, garages, prisons, paddy wagons, employees, tax inspectors - because we will pay to this gang. But how can they convince the ruler not to cut but increase the number? To demonstrate its utmost importance to the State.

And it was done by the police to the best of its ability. It proved that it could handle such slim girls like Yana Rusakevich: she is not tall and how could they refrain from beating her on the head? Please, remember students, pensioners and disabled people, and 80-years old people who should use a cane to walk. That old man escaped from a paddy wagon, by the way. So, their success is barely seen. However, the Minister wearing the uniform of the NKVD is proud of it and tells in public about plays with dressing. (Let's pretend that this is their personal thing, but it seems to me to dress like a plumber or a nurse is better, especially in public).

In short, the Belarusian police take a quantity in the absence of quality. The number of beaten, detained, riot policemen on the streets, water canons and shields, protocols and paddy wagons. Its colleagues in the public sector do not lag behind with the number of trials, fines, arrests, expels from the university, threats and intimidations. And European politicians just look at them with a slogan "real politik is everything".

On March 16 the IMF mission meets with Lukashenka and he makes suit to $3.5 billion. The entire Belarus bursts with trials of detainees arrested the day before. Pavel Sevyarynets, Anatol Lyabedzka, Vital Rymasheuski are in prison. Since the beginning of March the number of detainees has exceeded two hundred people. And at the same time the IMF and Lukashenka discuss economic issues and it promises to have a broad discussion of the issue in April in Washington DC where the session of the IMF and the World Bank will take place.

The World Bank also drew its attention to our situation: 28 March, following the dispersion on the Freedom Day, overcrowded prisons, kidnapping of Statkevich, a new criminal case on mass rallies, Young Front members on Valadarka and the White Legion in the KGB remand prison, the World Bank's Senior Vice President Kyle Peters meets with Lukashenka and discusses a billion-dollar package of projects and says that joint programmes are being successfully implemented in Belarus.

Well, they used to talk about positive signals: political prisoners were released, activists were not arrested anymore, administrative liability was replaced by fines, and Belarusians would somehow live without free elections. In fact, these "positive signals" are just the same promises but in a European cover. But now when those positive signals has run dry, Lukashenka continues asking for support of the West to spend for spongers wearing uniform or not wearing it, and the West does not demand to stop repressions anymore. They do not discuss the resumption of repressions even in a whisper.

Some European newspapers write about a new geopolitical concept and the place of Belarus in the world. The point is simple: "It is needed not to draw attention to repressions, support Lukashenka and create a buffer zone with his assistance. If Russia goes west, let Belarusians die than Poles, Lithuanians."

And Lukashenka does not care too. Only money for new paddy wagons and prisons counts. And if he gets it, he may be whoever is needed. He can do everything. But we won't.

Hey, you, listen to us! Yes, you're in the West! We do not need anything from you: we can do everything on our own. If you follow the situation here then you understand it is true. Please, do not bother then. Do not give money to Lukashenka, do not finance these stupid law enforcement bodies, do not invest money in our repressions, do not buy new paddy wagons at your own expense. And you can forget about us. We will hold up.

Iryna Khalip, specifically for Charter97.org