Franak Vyachorka at BRSM session: “MPs say about caring of students, but students are deprived of benefits”

Leader of “The Youth of the BPF” Franak Vyachorka and activist of the United Civil Party Mikhail Pashkevich, detained yesterday at the session of the pro-Lukashenka youth organisation BRSM, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Lenin’s Komsomol, were released from the Tsentralny district militia department of Minsk.

At 1.30 pm, youth activists came to the Palace of the Republic, but securities didn’t let them in and didn’t allow them to register as guests.

“At 1.40 pm we blended into the crowd – first year students of the linguistic university. Pretending we were students of Spanish and French departments, we dressed T-shirts “Kind Heart BRSM”. At 2.10 pm, we took the most convenient seats,” Franak Vyachorka writes in his blog.

According to the leaders of “The Youth of the BPF”, the main ideologist of the state Usevalad Yancheuski and securities were keeping an eye on them.

“We asked for the floor, but “deputies” didn’t react. Then we begin to speak from our seats. I said: “MPs say about care of students, but note that our students are deprived of social benefits,” Franak Vyachorka told in an interview to the Charter’97 press center.

“I stood up after speech of vice premier Kasinets. I said that celebration of the 90th anniversary of Komsomol in independent Belarus is nonsense. Deputies boiled over. Franak joined me and said they student were deprived of benefits. We asked to give us five minutes for a speech. Then the presidium began to boil, but the audience was quiet. At last, the voted for upholding the agenda,” Mikhail Pashkevich told to “Nasha Niva” newspaper.

“Some people applauded to us. It is a well known fact that most of the “deputies” do not have a strong live position. The audience mostly consisted of students of different educational establishments, forced to attend the session. From our side, it was not just an action, but work with the youth in order to present alternative views,” Franak Vyachorka said.

At 2.45 youth activists were detained.

“They kept us in the palace for an hour, and then guarded to the Tsentralny district militia department. They drew up a report on article 17.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences – Hooliganism. We were taken away our belts and tie. We spent an hour and a half in a cell. Then a chief of the department came to us and apologised for the detention. He ordered to tear reports. We were released,” Franak Vyachorka concluded.