Rally of entrepreneurs to take place in Minsk at midday today

Belarusian entrepreneurs are going to take to October (Kastrychnitskaya) Square in Minsk today. They continue to demand the authorities should cancel the decree 760, forbidding entrepreneurs to employ people except for close relatives. As the protestors think, the decree ruins their business and makes many people jobless. The previous action took place in the Belarusian capital on 10 January. Small businessmen are going to go on an indefinite strike without paying taxes from 1 February. On-line report from the protest action is to begin on our site at 12.00pm (Minsk time).

Viktar Kalei, deputy head of the campaign “For Free Development of Business”, one of the few leaders of entrepreneurs, who remained at large, confirmed his determination to assert his rights. “All people are going to come to the square. No arrests and repressions are able to change their minds. The people are radical,” he declared.

At the working session in the President’s Administration on 18 January entrepreneurs required to announce a transition period for re-registration of individual entrepreneurs into private unitary enterprises till the end of 2008. They said the laws on activity of private unitary enterprises should be improved within that period, and paragraph 1.1 of the president’s decree 760 allowing to employ only close relatives should be cancelled for that period.

Ala Gurevich, head of the Ragachou public association “Entrepreneur,” one of the participants of the session said the details to BelaPAN. According to her, 6 members of the working group on problems of individual entrepreneurs, formed at the Ministry of Economy, deputy prime-minister of Belarus Andrei Kabyakou, representatives of the President’s Administration, the Ministry of Taxes and Charges, and the Ministry of Economy and Finances were present at the session.

As the activist said, the talk between entrepreneurs and the officials ended in ultimatum: defenders of individual entrepreneurs warned new actions of protest will be organised, if their requirements on the transition period are not satisfied.