Polskie Radio: Outraged Belarusians' March Takes Place In Minsk 1 23.10.2017, 11:47

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PHOTO: NASHA NIVA

Next action is to be held on March 25, 2018, the day of celebrating the 100th anniversary of Belarusian People's Republic.

The Outraged Belarusians' March 2.0 was held in Minsk headed by one of the leaders of the Belarusian National Congress Mikalai Statkevich. People at the Match demanded to abolish the decree on "parasites," to rise salaries and pensions, to fight hazing and violence in the army. The rally wasn't approved by the authorities, but Mikalai Statkevich warned the authorities on the action in advance. The politician sent a notice to the Minsk city executive committee about the action on October 16, Polskie Radio reports.

Statkevich suggested that the city authorities should "comply with the requirements of the Constitution and ensure an unhindered and safe holding of a mass event." Several hundred people participated in the action. At the end, Mikalai Statkevich thanked everyone who had come to the Marsh, calling those people the salt of the earth.

According to one of the BNC leaders, the next major rally is scheduled for March 25, 2018, when the BPR will celebrate its centenary. The rally will take place at Yakub Kolas Square and it will be a sort of afinal of the Power to the People! campaign.

Statkevich notes that the activities within the framework of this campaign will be held in the regions. The format of rallies is still being determined.

Some activists who would certainly take part in the rally are serving administrative arrests. So, for example, on October 11, activists of the European Belarus civil campaign Yauhen Afnahel and co-chairman of the organizing committee for the creation of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party Pavel Seviarynets were detained in Minsk to serve their sentence on the earlier judgments. They were sentenced to 15 days of arrest for participating in the Prevention Campaign against the West-2017 exercises, which was held in Minsk on September 8. On October 13, European Belarus coordinator Maksim Viniarski was arrested for 10 days.

Mikalai Statkevich was convicted for participation in the same rally for five days, but after the trial he was not detained. The politician did not exclude that he would be detained shortly before the rally.

Before the rally began, it had been reported that several people, who were going to join the March, had been detained in the regions. So, for example, REP trade union activist Ryhor Hryk had been detained on the platform of the station before boarding the train in Baranavichy. The detention had been carried out by police officers in civilian clothes.

In the morning of September 21, head of the Minsk regional organization of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party Aliaksandr Abramovich was detained in Maladzechna.