High time to leave offices
- 11.09.2009, 12:03
It’s high to take to streets, talk to people in any form, believes Viktar Ivashkevich, one of the leaders of the Belarusian Popular Front.
Head of the Minsk BPF department Viktar Ivashkevich was arrested with dozens opposition activists on September 9 during dispersal of the rally “No to Russian Occupation!” The politician is answering the questions to www.charter97.org.
– You have taken part in several protest actions, got through arrests and jails. But some young people have been detained for the first time on September 9. How did they behave in these conditions?
– They were worthy of respect. They weren’t afraid to talk, though they could get a strike with a baton to the head for every word. They sang Pahonya and Mahutny Bozha, they stood facing a wall for four hours, but weren’t afraid. I felt that it was national self-conscience that gave them courage and inner power – these young guys know our history and the language, our national hymns.
They were ready for such behaviour of the authorities. None of them, including me, don’t consider themselves sufferers. We consider ourselves winners. We are going to return to October Square and demonstrate we are not afraid.
– The objective of the rally “No to Russian Occupation!” was defence of the national interests and independence of Belarus. Why didn’t members of the Belarusian Popular Front visit the rally?
I think the new BPF leaders, and the leaders of other opposition political parties have much to do inside the parties, so they don’t have enough time to react to the events outside the parties. This is bad, in my view, everyone must focus their thoughts, plans and attention not on inner party and opposition processes, but on presenting their ideas to the Belarusian society.
For example, if there are patriotic-minded people who realize the danger of Russian imperialism, and this comply with party programmes, the leaders must stand against bringing Russian troops. If the programmes contain points on freedom and democracy, the leaders should struggle for freedom and democracy. If their programmes contain a point on social justice, but the regime shifts the burden of economic problems on common people, opposition activists must go to plants workers with economic slogans.
The rally on September 9 us a demonstration of attitude towards bringing Russian troops to Belarus, but on the other side it is also a demand of freedom of assembly. If we don’t take to streets and demand, we’ll never gain this right.
It’s high time to take to streets, talk to people in any form. Opposition activists must stop vain discussions in parties and start talking to Belarusians. It’s no sense in sitting in offices.
– Head of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee Aleh Hulak told Radio Svaboda the participants of the rally wanted to provoke beating to spoil the “improvement of relations between Belarus and the EU”. How did you take this statement?
– This is a perfect example of the so called “controlled opposition”. The “human rights activists”, who must stand for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, defends and excuse the rights of the punishers, who beat participants of peaceful demonstrations. Aleh Hulak is one of the people, who say they are struggling for democracy, but asks Europe to grant loans for Lukashenka against the background of beating peaceful demonstrators by riot militia. There are journalists, who hush up the awful things in the country and publish articles calling not to fight against the dictatorship, but to cooperate with it to make it softer.
The statement by Aleh Hulak is a manifesto of betrayers who decided not to struggle against the dictatorship but find a good place in it and serve its interests.
– You have bruises on your face after the rally. Have you been beaten after the detention?
– I was beaten in a bus, when I tried to defend the guy, who had been stricken down to the floor and kicked. I demanded to stop mockery and got my portion of “democracy and liberalism”. A riot militia commander struck me in face. All people were beaten to a greater of lesser extent. Militiamen beat us mainly in the bus and some people in the militia department.
– The Belarusian-Russia military exercises will be held during September. Does the Belarusian opposition plan other protests?
– We’ll discuss this with the Front head today. Protests in different forms will go on.