New Wave of Protest Started from Baranavichy

Today more than 200 individual entrepreneurs have gathered in a new park of Baranavichy to rally against Decree No. 760. Before the beginning of the rally several cars appeared in the park, and communal services workers started to prune trees.

In the beginning of the rally two Young Front Yaraslau Hryshchenya and Vadzim Behenya were detained. They were taken to the police department, and reports were filed against them. Policemen charge activists with alleged “use of foul language,” Radio Svaboda informs.

Policemen were keeping a sharp lookout for protest rally. A representative of the city executive committee, who came to the participants of the rally, said that the protest was unsanctioned, and offered to gather in one of their offices on Wednesday.

As said by an activist of the movement of entrepreneurs Mikalay Charnavus, participants of the rally agreed to gather for a meeting in the city executive committee on Wednesday, but they demanded to release young activists, and asked the police not to detain anyone in the future.

After it was informed Yaraslau Hryshchenya and Vadzim Behenya were released, participants of the rally disbanded, in order to gather in the assembly hall of the city executive committee on Wednesday.

As we have informed, the main protest rally of small businessmen is to take place on February 18 on October Square in Minsk. Activists threaten to put up tents on the square. They want the Decree No. 760 to be reversed.

“We must put up tents, we must stay on the Square, and we must call upon all juridical entities, all hired workers to support our “ploshcha” (the Square), to give all the help they can. We must offer an economic demand – alteration of the Decree No. 760. Only organized masses can reverse this decree, if there would be many of people. And we mustn’t be afraid of that,” told the member of the coordinating committee of entrepreneurs Ales Makaeu.