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Mikalai Statkevich On Workers' Strikes: These Are Only First Signals

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Mikalai Statkevich On Workers' Strikes: These Are Only First Signals
MIKALAI STATKEVICH

Lukashenka fears that social escalation may grow into political tension.

One of the leaders of the Belarusian National Congress Mikalai Statkevich told this to Charter97.org, commenting on the strike of workers in Minsk.

- Now workers in Belarus self-organize more and more often, and conduct strikes. For example, it was reported yesterday that the workers of the Minsk door-manufacturing enterprise had been on a strike for several days due to the wages delay. How do you think, can this protest become political?

- If we take history, this is exactly the way it happened in many countries. People started with economic protest, but soon realized that the state is incapable of helping them, and the protest became political. In our case, Belarusians distrust the authorities in the first place.

For example, in 2017 the slogans for the abolition of the decree on ''parasites'' lef to the situation when among the former ''dead-set'' electorate of Lukashenka, the cries for his resign started sounding, accompanied with emotional, foul language. Apparently, social protests in Belarus which now flare up here and there, are just another sign that the country has long been too ready for changes. People want to replace this power, want decent life in a normal country.

- Does the condition of the workers remind the situation of the workers in early 90s, when people were left without means for living and protest actions were the only way to change the situation? For example, in April 1991 there was one of the most massive protest actions of workers in Minsk. How do you think, can history repeat itself?

- History repeats, but in different ways. In those years, there was a different situation. The sharp growth of prices caused mass protests back then. In the end, they have become one-moment, and impressively massive. Now the authorities are doing the same thing, but smoother. They have learnt the lesson.

I remember, they sharply raised the prices last year for petrol, by 5% at a time, and Lukashenka made a speech and said: ''What do you think you are doing?

This can be done in small portions''. So they raise prices for fuel for one kapeyka, every Sunday. As they say, one can boil a frog, heating the water slowly, and it will not jump out. Apparently, Belarusians are very tightly pressed, the protest potential is being accumulated, and the hatred towards the regime manifests itself very clearly. I think that the riots flaring here and there lately are just first signals. The situation will escalate further on. It's not for nothing that this Sir already managed to declare the starting ''political bacchanalia'', which will last for a year and a half. By ''bacchanalia'' he means the people's struggle for their rights, and fear it in advance. He knows that the authorities cannot make the Belarusians' lives any better, but can only make everything worse, continue robbing the people. He predicts what he fears of, and tries to slander the people who are struggling for the sacred thing - for the right to a decent life, an opportunity to support a family, feed children. So yes, this is a signal. The dictator's statements are also a manifestation of the fact that we are standing on the threshold of social escalation, which could grow into a political tension.

- Leader of the global union IndustriAll Walter Sanchez suggested Lukashenka should be returned to the ''black list''. In your opinion, is it necessary to impose sanctions on the Lukashenka regime?

- I oppose the idea of sanctions against Belarus, but I think that the international community simply must place Lukashenka and his surroundings into the framework of the law, by making them ''non-handshakeable''. I sincerely don't understand the officials who come to Belarus and behave with this man, as if he was real president. Belarus remains the only country in Europe where nothing even close to elections exists, where opponents to the government are persecuted, killed, put to jail, and potential presidential candidates are forced to leave the country. A president is a person elected by the society in fair elections, while the usurper who turned the elections into a useless ritual is a criminal, a bandit. And he must be treated like a bandit.

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