Andrei Sharenda: We Need To Protest Until Brest Plant Is Finally Closed

Full-fledged work is underway at the battery plant in Brest.

Brest officials seem to have ignored Lukashenka’s statement at the celebration of the city’s 1000th anniversary that he was on the side of the people. Activists claim that the plant is carrying out full-fledged work, Belsat reports.

For more than a year and a half, opponents of the battery plant have come to the Lenin Square in Brest every Sunday. They feed the birds and exchange the latest news on the construction of the enterprise.

The opponents of the plant have taken to the square today: they say they will feed the birds until the plant is closed completely.

“When the lock is hung on the building of the battery factory, when the gates and the entrance to the battery plant are sealed, then we will stop coming here,” says Kanstantsin Astapuk, the opponent of the plant’s construction.

“Lukashenka says a lot, he lies a lot, there is no trust in him for the 25 years of rule. I repeat once again, while the factory is not finally closed, we need to go out into the streets and achieve our goals,” adds another protester, coordinator of the European Belarus civil campaign Andrei Sharenda.

The mention of Lukashenka is not accidental. Exactly a month ago, while congratulating Brest residents on their city’s 1000th anniversary, he spoke out about the situation with the battery plant, saying that he was on the side of people. However, according to the activists, nothing has changed globally during this time.

“Either the authorities simply sabotage Lukashenka’s undertakings and his instructions, or there is some order that we don’t know about. I draw this conclusion on the basis of the letters that we now see. Particularly surprising is the position of the Ministry of Nature and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, which is trying to obscure the facts of excess emissions,” says Dzmitry Bekaliuk, the opponent of the plant.

Even before Lukashenka’s statements, there were officials saying that the issue of the plant should be resolved, and Chairman of the Brest Regional Executive Committee Anatol Lis even suspended the operation of the enterprise in June. But as lead watch activists testify, IPower is working.

“Workers come here every morning, a bus brings them, about 30 people. Now there are fewer of them, there were noises, we heard, we could not understand what was the matter. They drain water, and something else. Generally speaking, there’s full-fledged work underway at the plant,” adds Natallia, the lead watch activist.