Motorists Have Questions for Lukashenka and the Traffic Police to Answer

• 2.09.2019, 11:49

The authorities are cowardly evading the people.

Leanid Kulakou, an activist of the European Belarus civil campaign, a taxi driver with many years of experience, told Charter97.org what the Belarusian drivers think about the "MOT Test" traffic police operation, what people think about Lukashenka and his officials, and what should be done to remove "bloodsuckers sitting on the people's necks".

- Recently, the traffic police finished the MOT test operation. 14 thousand drivers were stopped and fined within 10 days. 200 (!) thousands of them have been fined since the beginning of the year... How would you comment on these figures?

- I doubt the reliability of these figures. I think the traffic police are not able to stop and check so many cars. But they should report about "successful operation". This is my personal opinion.

- A farmer near Homel has recently said that 2 thousand out of 3 cars has no MOT test certificate and demanded: "not to stifle the Belarusian drivers with duties". Why do Belarusian drivers "partisan" against the authorities and ignore the test?

- I'll serve as an example. I used to drive a taxi and I had to pass the test twice a year. And every six months I paid $100 for my car. To earn $500 a month, I had to drive 12-14 hours every day. I'm too old to play such "games" with the authorities.

Second, I think that the majority of Belarusians have no money to pay the road tax. A person would better invest in a car rather than pay for access to traffic.

Third, fuel has significantly increased in price that one can say that the toll has already been included in its price. And it would be fair for the authorities to recognize it officially. For example, I drive a car one month a year. Why should I pay this tax? For driving to Kurapaty once a month and back?

This is how a major part of the country lives. Pensioners drive to a country house near Minsk. That's all. This is 50-60 km a week. Why should they pay the road tax? They have not so much money. The road tax should be officially included in the price of fuel and a person would pay as much as he drives.

- Aren't the authorities afraid to set themselves at odds with hundreds of thousands of motorists on the eve of the election campaign?

- By and large, the authorities show their neglect of our country and the interests of all Belarusians - motorists, workers, intellectuals... They know that people do not vote for them and will not do it anyway.

Lukashenka used to say that the government should be "simple and straight forward". Many streets in Belarus are named after the workers' and peasants' revolutionaries.

Lukashenka is afraid of the people, of the real power. So why don't we nominate ordinary workers as "deputies" now? If you are scared, it's your problem.

Let's just imagine what would have happened to Lukashenka if a real "workers' and peasants'" had been in power in Belarus! First of all, every ordinary Belarusian would feel what power was. And not robots, but by living people would have passed the laws.

Lukashenka keeps saying that he has two higher educations. He sits on our neck for 25 years and he is useless. I believe that any simple worker, even without education, would do better.

Every official of Lukashenka shouts and thump his chest that he is "the most honest". But the most honest Belarusians have been jailed, and some of them are still there. I am sure that any political prisoner would run the country better than Lukashenka's officials.

Judges of Lukashenka have become corrupt. I believe that any ordinary person in the "parliament" will be more honest than his appointees.

Yermoshyna once said: careerists are needed. And what does a careerist mean? This is the one who comes to terms with a conscience, treads on someone's head. I am convinced that any ordinary driver or worker will be more respectable to his duties.

I can say that current officials, including those appointed by Lukashenka, are the bloodsuckers of our people, who will take away everything they can.

We will steal from workers and drivers, who ignore the MOT test. Villagers have many questions to the officials, the traffic police and Lukashenka. But how can they be asked if Lukashenka and his officials are cowardly avoiding people?

Look at his trips: he never met real people. He is afraid. He has nothing to say. He can only say a few words to ghosts. He will deliver reprimands to show off.

And the major thing is that the law enforcers, considered by Lukashenka as their "reliable support", also see the situation. I regularly visit Kurapaty. The traffic police once visited us, and one of them told me: "I wait for my contract to expire and quit the police. I don't want to do this anymore". And all the crews who arrived in Kurapaty last year to fine us are new. The police suffer high personnel turnover.

It turns out that Lukashenka has no real "support" here, either.

- By the way, recently a traffic policeman quit his job and told the truth how inspectors are forced into chasing drivers: one has to fine at least 16 people in a month. Have you ever faced such a situation while working in a taxi?

- I know about it. My friend is a former traffic policeman. He told that on weekends or sick leave, he put on a police uniform and went to "make a plan". He couldn't stand it and quit.

- You intend to participate in the election campaign. Why did you make such a decision?

- I'm going to participate in this campaign in the 108th precinct - it's Zeleny Luh, the part of it, which is located in Pershamaiski district of Minsk.

The authorities will do their best to stop independent candidates from participating.

But, as they say, who else but us? We must do it. First, to show what kind of "elections" Lukashenka has. Second, to use the campaign to communicate with people. People are tired of bloodsuckers in power. Yes, let some specialists - lawyers, economists and so on - be appointed to the "house". But no matter what a specialist can come up with, the initiative should come from people, not by the rubber-stamping parliament with Lukashenka's robots raising their hands.

Let the people see in a fall who can be followed and who cannot. Who is a "bloodsucker" and who is on the people's side. Therefore, we will organize pickets and tell people how the situation looks like. Although our people know and understand everything well. We just need to overcome fear and act.