Viktar Ivashkevich: “If Belarusian authorities ignore the offer of the European Union, social crisis is inevitable”

The Minsk municipal executive committee authorized the European March to be held on October 14. Nevertheless, the officials didn’t authorize the route proposed by the organizers of the March. As usual, the authorities proposed to the participants of the action to gather by the building of the Academy of Sciences and to march along the pavements of Nezalezhnasti Avenue and Surganau Street towards Bangalor Square. The meeting is to be held in the Park of People’s Friendship. Nevertheless, one of the applicants and organizers of the European March, assistant chairperson of the Belarusian People’s Front (BPF) party Viktar Ivashkevich regards the decision positive.

- Now those who were afraid to join the March will come to a legally appointed place, Viktar Ivashkevich said in an interview to Narodnaya Volia. It’s particularly vital as several enterprises force their employees to sign commitment notes pledging they will not come to the European March. Now they will know the action is legal.

- But the authorities appointed a different route which was announced several days before the action…

- We have applied to the Minsk municipal executive committee on August 15. We hoped two months would be enough for the authorities to discuss the route of the March with us. Nevertheless, the officials – both of Minsk and of the whole country – kept silence. So we could only confirm that the European March would be held, and then we announced the gathering place as it was stated in the application.

Indeed, the Minsk municipal executive committee authorized the action only four days before the appointed date and refused to announce the decision in the media. Of course, we use all the information means available for us. But we cannot guarantee that everyone learns about the decision of the Minsk municipal executive committee, so several organizers will come to Kastrychnitskaya Square on October 14 to lead people to the appointed gathering place. Others will gather near the Academy of Sciences at 2 p.m. and there we will start the March.

- Are European politicians expected to come to the European March?

- We have sent invitations and we expect foreign guests. But I cannot say now who will arrive; I don’t know who has got the visa. We have invited President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Poettering, reporters on Belarus from different parliamentarian assemblies, OSCE representatives.

- Mr. Ivashkevich, earlier you said you expect more than 30 000 people to come to the March. If your forecast is verified, and this number of people will come out to the streets of Minsk on October 14, what will happen? A revolution?

- This action is a reply of Belarusian nation to the address of the European Commission. And the people who will come to the European March will show that we have heard the address and that we want to cooperate, and we demand from our government to present their reply. The European March is a demonstration for European integration; this is not an action against the regime and by no means is this action an attempt to overthrow it. On the contrary, the purpose of our manifestation is to call the people who govern Belarus today to cooperate with Europe for the sake of our national concerns. The European March is neither “Maidan” (a square in Kyiv, Ukraine, where the “orange revolution” took place), nor revolution.

There is one more issue. If the Belarusian authorities ignore the offer of the European Union, the reaction of the society, and will maintain self-isolation from the civilized world and unreasonable policies, a social crisis is then inevitable. And thus people confronted with low salaries and inflation will come out to the streets demanding a resignation for the governors. Then we will see protests, but it will not happen earlier than the next year.

- In your view, isn’t the reply of Piatkevich an example of irrational policy of the authorities?

- Obviously, it’s very difficult to talk for those who are used to press. We hope however that the authorities will understand the advantages of dialogue and cooperation over confrontation. But if the authorities choose confrontation, it will strike back.