Six Years Ago, A Student March Involving Thousands Of People Took Place In Minsk

There were strikes at Moscow State Linguistic University and at many departments of the Belarusian National Technical University, Belarusian State University, and Belarusian State Pedagogical University.

Thousands of students from Minsk universities took to the capital’s main streets and demanded an end to the violence by security forces against peaceful demonstrators and called for new elections. One of the participants in the protest, a former student at the Belarusian National Technical University (BNTU), told the Telegram channel “Basta!” about how it unfolded:

“Our main goal at the time was to set an example of solidarity and call for a general strike. During the first week of September, students at many universities in Minsk did not attend classes. Students at MGLU, as well as many departments at BNTU, BSU, and BSPU, went on strike. Strike committees were formed at the universities, which began establishing contacts with one another and exchanging experiences.

Unfortunately, the idea of a general strike was sabotaged by Tikhanovskaya’s campaign headquarters, whose representatives we had approached at the time. We were assured that victory had already been won and that it was enough simply to participate in the Sunday rallies. Most people believed this—a combination of our lack of personal experience and the prevailing mood played a role. Later, in prisons and penal colonies, we recalled this mistake time and again.

Freedom must be fought for—resolutely and uncompromisingly, paying no heed to cowards and scoundrels. That is the only way to win it. Not just for a couple of weeks, as in September 2020, but forever. We learn from our mistakes—and from those of others. We’ve become stronger and wiser. We’ll see this through to the end.”

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