The Authorities Triggered The Scandal

What is a secret of success of Brest protests?

In Brest, the traditional Sunday action against the battery plant turned into a mass march with about 500 people involved. Witnesses inform that ordinary passers-by joined protesters as the column moved through the city centre.

The representative of the Belarusian National Congress in Brest, an activist of European Belarus civil campaign, Andrei Sharenda informed Charter97.org.

- 500 participants in the march hit a record high. Earlier, maximum 300 protesters against the battery plant were involved. Why has the number of people increased?

- The answer is simple: the authorities themselves triggered the scandal by their half statements and attempts to deceive citizens. In fact, they do not make any concessions in the construction and operation of the battery plant. The more promises they make, the more people realise that the authorities simply buy time, distract people from the square, appoint some "negotiations", almost outside the city.

In fact, they tried to use these tactics on Sunday: an hour before the march, a meeting with the "mayor" of Brest, Aliaksandr Rahachuk, and a representative of the regional executive committee for environmental issues was scheduled in the Trade Union House. The initiative group to combat the battery plant decided to ignore the meeting and the hall was empty. Of course, the authorities had a dozen and a half of their "plants" who nodded them.

But people know that the authorities do not want to close down the plant. And promises of inspections are not met. The only option in this situation is to hold protests on the streets. New people join protest actions.

- What did people say on Sunday? What are their sentiments?

- People know that the initiative is on our side, and the authorities know the language of peaceful pressure on squares and streets. So far, we have chosen the pressure with traditional actions: feeding pigeons in the square and marching along the main streets of the city.

But everybody realizes that if the authorities continue to stall, the forms of protest may become more radical. As far as I understand, the actions will flare up not only in Brest but also outside the city.

It may happen that people will block the central Brest-Moscow highway if the plant starts working in the open again. People are ready for this. Such ideas were voiced yesterday at the protest action. The initiative group to combat the battery plant curbs them, but the time may come when spontaneous protests can flare up.

Both the "mayor" of Brest, who has lied to the Brest citizens many times about this plant, and our so-called "governor" should understand this. If the plant is not closed down once and for all, the protests will continue, and it will be a completely different, spontaneous force of people's discontent.

The authorities lie and more and more people take to the streets.

- How can one use the experience of Brest in other cities of Belarus?

- The secret is a good organization of the initiative group, which at first consisted of people living nearby. But over time it began to involve more and more ordinary people who want to live in a clean environment.

There are a lot of troubled places in Belarus. It is essential to create groups all over the country. The protection of rights in our country is possible as soon as requirements are made to the square. It has succeeded in Brest, and there are no grounds to believe that it will fail in other cities.

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