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Individual Entrepreneurs: A Footstep Away From New Protests

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Individual Entrepreneurs: A Footstep Away From New Protests
ARCHIVE PHOTO: ONLINER.BY

The so-called moratorium for checking existence of certificates for consumer goods expires on Friday.

Chairman of Barysau regional branch of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party “Assembly”, former entrepreneur Aliaksandr Abramovich was fined for 40 base fees. Entrepreneur Aliaksandr Makaeu got similar punishment for organization of this very demonstration of individual entrepreneurs. Several more participants of the protests were fined for Br 3 million each. The organizers consider the punishment illegal, and it failed to lessen their enthusiasm, BelSAT TV channel informs.

“Protests will be held further on, together with other forms of appealing to the Belarusian entrepreneurs. For example, collecting signatures so that the Supreme Court and other branches of government would reconsider the decrees of the President of the Republic of Belarus, which remain anti-entrepreneur in the actual fact,” – notes member of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party “Assembly” Aliaksandr Abramovich.

Although most entrepreneurs, after several months of protest, seem to have finally agreed to work under the authorities’ conditions, other problems may occur since July 1. The so-called moratorium for checking whether an entrepreneur’s activity meets the requirements of the Decree#222, which prescribes having certificates for consumer goods, expires on Friday. At the latest entrepreneurs’ forum in Minsk, representatives of the authorities tried to soothe the situation, but, as said by the organizer of the event Anatol Shumchanka, there is no confidence.

“The people fear mass inspections, whether mass, planned, extraordinary, they are scared of someone coming over to them, of any kind of fuss. No entrepreneur seems confident in own paperwork today, as the supervision authorities will always find a flaw,” – leader of the civil association “Perspective” Anatol Shumchanka clarifies.

The mentioned moratorium for inspections has always been a partial formality. Regular individual inspections have become a normal practice at many of the Belarusian markets. What will change on July 1?

“According to our calculations and prognosis, the authorities will start mass confiscations of the entrepreneurs’ property as they work under the so-called fake certificates, and then there will come a real wave of protests, a social explosion,” – Aliaksandr Abramovich is convinced.

In his turn, Anatol Shumchanka hopes that the authorities have made certain conclusions after the protests that happened in winter and spring.

“I really hope nothing will change on July 1 and everything will continue the same old way. I mean, the authorities won’t start rummaging through the markets, organizing mass raids, or the story of the winter confrontation may repeat. We told at the forum that we need to avoid this,” – Anatol Shumchanka says.

There have been protests and actual strikes of the entrepreneurs right after introduction of the Decreee #222. However, if the entrepreneurs went to work to the markets now, won’t it make the authorities decide they will agree to mass inspections as well?

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