MORE BELARUSIANS JOIN THE STRIKE
On November 9, two people from BelAZ, the first two from their plant, join the strike: a welder Oleg Sosnitsky and a milling machine operator Sergei Valentyukevich.
The statements they filed with the plant's director list their demands: the retirement of Alexander Lukashenka, honest elections, the release of the political prisoners, and stopping police brutality. Valentyukevich also demanded that two department heads who pressure workers be fired.
Three more people joined the strike at Belaruskali - electrician Maxim Danilevich and repairmen Sergei Rozhko and Dmitry Bykov.
Activists at Hrodna Azot, supported by the “Honest People” initiative, are gathering applications from those who would like to join the strike but are afraid to do it publicly because there are few people currently participating. The applications can be sent via a chatbot, the deadline is November 10. If there are 500 or more applications, the strike committee representatives will contact those who sent them. Otherwise, the applications will be deleted forever.
Another person joining the strike is Elena Davydova, a bacteriologist from Homiel. (Back in August, she put forward her presidential candidacy in protest but wasn't registered and faced pressure from the police.)
On November 9, two people from BelAZ, the first two from their plant, join the strike: a welder Oleg Sosnitsky and a milling machine operator Sergei Valentyukevich.
The statements they filed with the plant's director list their demands: the retirement of Alexander Lukashenka, honest elections, the release of the political prisoners, and stopping police brutality. Valentyukevich also demanded that two department heads who pressure workers be fired.
Three more people joined the strike at Belaruskali - electrician Maxim Danilevich and repairmen Sergei Rozhko and Dmitry Bykov.
Activists at Hrodna Azot, supported by the “Honest People” initiative, are gathering applications from those who would like to join the strike but are afraid to do it publicly because there are few people currently participating. The applications can be sent via a chatbot, the deadline is November 10. If there are 500 or more applications, the strike committee representatives will contact those who sent them. Otherwise, the applications will be deleted forever.
Another person joining the strike is Elena Davydova, a bacteriologist from Homiel. (Back in August, she put forward her presidential candidacy in protest but wasn't registered and faced pressure from the police.)
“THE BELARUSIANS ARE HEROES” ● Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on yesterday’s march and mass detentions
“Over 1000 people arrested, hundreds of people kicked and beaten with truncheons. This is how you represent the regime? This is how you prove your legitimacy to the peaceful Belarusians and the entire world?
You will fail. The proud and fearless people will never believe those who dared raise their hand to them and take away their voice. Belarusians come out against you unarmed, without armor vests and combat vehicles - and they know that you will never be brave enough to do the same. The Belarusians come out understanding all the possible consequences while you lie to yourself, thinking that once the regime comes crashing down you will be saved. Belarusians protest against violence, and those who break people's legs to make them easier to detain, don't deserve to be called Belarusians.
The Belarusians are heroes. I thank everyone who protested yesterday for your bravery and willpower. I thank the students, medical workers, musicians, journalists, athletes, and everyone who was ready to be sent to jail so that the rest could continue the protest. I know that this path required sacrifices from all of us. And I know that it is easy to get depressed now. But each time when I thought I wouldn't be able to continue this fight, you showed me that together we can do anything. You were right.
Yes, our way to freedom turned out to be a marathon, but we will not give up now. No one but us will free our loved ones from prisons or bring back those forced into exile. There is no going back to the life that was before, and you know it. The regime keeps burying itself in crime and debt. It keeps up the terror and will be called to answer for it. So keep each other safe, support, and help each other. Together we will handle anything - including the hard way to the new free country.”
“Over 1000 people arrested, hundreds of people kicked and beaten with truncheons. This is how you represent the regime? This is how you prove your legitimacy to the peaceful Belarusians and the entire world?
You will fail. The proud and fearless people will never believe those who dared raise their hand to them and take away their voice. Belarusians come out against you unarmed, without armor vests and combat vehicles - and they know that you will never be brave enough to do the same. The Belarusians come out understanding all the possible consequences while you lie to yourself, thinking that once the regime comes crashing down you will be saved. Belarusians protest against violence, and those who break people's legs to make them easier to detain, don't deserve to be called Belarusians.
The Belarusians are heroes. I thank everyone who protested yesterday for your bravery and willpower. I thank the students, medical workers, musicians, journalists, athletes, and everyone who was ready to be sent to jail so that the rest could continue the protest. I know that this path required sacrifices from all of us. And I know that it is easy to get depressed now. But each time when I thought I wouldn't be able to continue this fight, you showed me that together we can do anything. You were right.
Yes, our way to freedom turned out to be a marathon, but we will not give up now. No one but us will free our loved ones from prisons or bring back those forced into exile. There is no going back to the life that was before, and you know it. The regime keeps burying itself in crime and debt. It keeps up the terror and will be called to answer for it. So keep each other safe, support, and help each other. Together we will handle anything - including the hard way to the new free country.”
Observers noticed a strange-arranged military vehicle during yesterday’s events in Minsk. Another photo was taken later and turned perplexity into a reasonable suggestion. Yes, it seems to be a kind of government-budget military hostel.
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“Hands off our children!” participants of the “Wisdom March” are chanting. The column is marching along Nezavisimosti avenue.
This is Yahor Fatyhau - a 4th grade student of the Belarusian Entrepreneurship Institute. The police broke his leg after yesterday's march.
Now he is stable and has been transferred to a common ward. No one is watching him, although he was delivered to the hospital under escort. Besides a broken leg, he has many other injuries, but the previously published information about severe head trauma turned out to be false.
Now he is stable and has been transferred to a common ward. No one is watching him, although he was delivered to the hospital under escort. Besides a broken leg, he has many other injuries, but the previously published information about severe head trauma turned out to be false.
“EITHER I LEAVE THE COUNTRY, OR THEY WILL THROW ME OUT, IN ONE PIECE, OR SEVERAL” ● Maria Kalesnikava told the story of her abduction.
On the first Monday of September, Maria was kidnapped in the center of Minsk. Men with no identification put her into a van and took off. She was only found two days later when she was in jail. Not the musician and activist describes what happened and named the people who tried to send her away from Belarus, TUT.BY writes.
“After I was abducted, they forced me into the cabinet of Nikolai Karpenkov, the head of the Organized Crime and Corruption Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He screamed, insulted me, threatened me. The ‘discussion’ happened in the presence of two more gentlemen: Gennadiy Kazakevich, the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, and Andrei Pavlyuchenka, head of the Operations and Analytics Center. They gave me an ultimatum: either I leave the country and do whatever I want abroad, or they will throw me out - in one piece, or several. Break my fingers, lock me up for 25 years, and make me sew shirts for the siloviki. The ‘talk’ took several hours, including breaks for ‘rest’ in a solitary cell.
She was then transferred to the KGB detention center, searched, and put in a solitary cell. A couple of hours later, another talk happened, with three agents present. One of them was Konstantin Bychek, head of the Investigative Department of KGB.
‘An engaging discussion’ lasted till late at night. They asked a lot about me, who writes the statements, why do I claim election fraud, what gives me reasons to state that Tsikhanouskaya won, did I organize unsanctioned mass events, did I interfere with the work of the state agencies, do I have any connections with Nexta (a popular anti-regime blogger - translator’s remark), what are the goals of the Coordination Council? Do I understand that I am responsible for the people being beaten and killed, not those who gave such orders? They really think that foreign ‘puppeteers’ attempting to influence the situation in Belarus and people who protest are criminals, not peaceful Belarusians. The things that are happening: brutal dispersion of peaceful citizens, beatings of their compatriots, mass repressions against everyone who participated in the election campaign are criminal. The regime doesn’t hear the will of the people.
Yes, I was afraid. I was really afraid of being sent to prison or killed and dismembered. But the most important thing here is to understand that this ‘chaos and disarray,’ this terror, violence, and endless crimes against the Belarusian people must end, and the Belarusian nation must become free. Not for a second did I regret my decision to stay in the country. I am not afraid of a criminal case or prison sentence, and I’m absolutely sure that it is those who commit crimes who must be afraid. I stand by my words and can give detailed descriptions of all the rooms and corridors I went through. I can also identify all the people who had something to do with what happened to me on September 7 and 8.”
Maria Kalesnikava also stated that she filed a report with the Investigative Committee and Prosecutor General’s office to start a criminal case regarding kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and the threat of murder, extensive bodily harm, or property destruction.
On the first Monday of September, Maria was kidnapped in the center of Minsk. Men with no identification put her into a van and took off. She was only found two days later when she was in jail. Not the musician and activist describes what happened and named the people who tried to send her away from Belarus, TUT.BY writes.
“After I was abducted, they forced me into the cabinet of Nikolai Karpenkov, the head of the Organized Crime and Corruption Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He screamed, insulted me, threatened me. The ‘discussion’ happened in the presence of two more gentlemen: Gennadiy Kazakevich, the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, and Andrei Pavlyuchenka, head of the Operations and Analytics Center. They gave me an ultimatum: either I leave the country and do whatever I want abroad, or they will throw me out - in one piece, or several. Break my fingers, lock me up for 25 years, and make me sew shirts for the siloviki. The ‘talk’ took several hours, including breaks for ‘rest’ in a solitary cell.
She was then transferred to the KGB detention center, searched, and put in a solitary cell. A couple of hours later, another talk happened, with three agents present. One of them was Konstantin Bychek, head of the Investigative Department of KGB.
‘An engaging discussion’ lasted till late at night. They asked a lot about me, who writes the statements, why do I claim election fraud, what gives me reasons to state that Tsikhanouskaya won, did I organize unsanctioned mass events, did I interfere with the work of the state agencies, do I have any connections with Nexta (a popular anti-regime blogger - translator’s remark), what are the goals of the Coordination Council? Do I understand that I am responsible for the people being beaten and killed, not those who gave such orders? They really think that foreign ‘puppeteers’ attempting to influence the situation in Belarus and people who protest are criminals, not peaceful Belarusians. The things that are happening: brutal dispersion of peaceful citizens, beatings of their compatriots, mass repressions against everyone who participated in the election campaign are criminal. The regime doesn’t hear the will of the people.
Yes, I was afraid. I was really afraid of being sent to prison or killed and dismembered. But the most important thing here is to understand that this ‘chaos and disarray,’ this terror, violence, and endless crimes against the Belarusian people must end, and the Belarusian nation must become free. Not for a second did I regret my decision to stay in the country. I am not afraid of a criminal case or prison sentence, and I’m absolutely sure that it is those who commit crimes who must be afraid. I stand by my words and can give detailed descriptions of all the rooms and corridors I went through. I can also identify all the people who had something to do with what happened to me on September 7 and 8.”
Maria Kalesnikava also stated that she filed a report with the Investigative Committee and Prosecutor General’s office to start a criminal case regarding kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and the threat of murder, extensive bodily harm, or property destruction.
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Women's solidarity action in Minsk. The participants formed a solidarity chain near the Kamarousky market in Minsk.
‘THERE WILL BE NO JOKES ANYMORE”
It is necessary to set up trade unions at all private enterprises by the end of 2020, otherwise, they will be closed down, Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with Chairman of the Federations of Trade Unions of Belarus Mikhail Orda.
“We have agreed that trade unions will be established at all private enterprises by the end of 2020. This issue should be handled by the end of the year,” Lukashenko said.
“Unless private organizations set up trade unions following your request by the end of the year, they will be closed down. You should put forward these proposals. There will be no jokes anymore.”
“We saw what some people did and how they tried to destroy the state and statehood in our country. Well, we will sort things out,” Lukashenko added.
It is necessary to set up trade unions at all private enterprises by the end of 2020, otherwise, they will be closed down, Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with Chairman of the Federations of Trade Unions of Belarus Mikhail Orda.
“We have agreed that trade unions will be established at all private enterprises by the end of 2020. This issue should be handled by the end of the year,” Lukashenko said.
“Unless private organizations set up trade unions following your request by the end of the year, they will be closed down. You should put forward these proposals. There will be no jokes anymore.”
“We saw what some people did and how they tried to destroy the state and statehood in our country. Well, we will sort things out,” Lukashenko added.
Such a banner of solidarity with doctors is set in Minsk, Angarskaya street's nearby.