Belarusians to Demand Lukashenka’s Resignation :: Charter'97 :: News

This decision was made on March 31 by the National Strike Committee of Belarus. The Strike Committee announced preparation and carrying out mass protest actions. In the action of May 1 there will be such participants as entrepreneurs, as well as workers, students, teachers, doctors, veterans and pensioners. The main demand will be retiring of Alyaxandar Lukashenka and government, told chairman of the National Strike Committee, member of the European Coalition ‘Free Belarus” Valery Levanewsky.

Taking into account that it is practically impossible to receive permission for holding a meeting or demonstration, state actions will be used for carrying out a protest. In this case, the initiators of the meeting or demonstration are state officials, and people just to come and express their will.

The economical demands of the protesters are to be divided into two parts:

1. National – to reduce public utilities costs and rent of quarters by a factor of three, to rise a real average salary to 200 Euro, to increase pensions by 50%. To increase scholarships, unemployment doles and child support up to the subsistence wage. Minimal wage received in one’s hands, should be no less than 100 Euro per month.

2. Demands of businessmen – to cancel introduction of licenses from May 1, 2004, to cancel obligatory social insurance for small entrepreneurs, reduce to a third flat tax’s rate, rent for places in the markets, to cancel limitations for selling goods in the markets introduced by new regulations of trade in the markets, to revoke obligatory certification of goods and hygienic registration of the goods that cannot be dangerous for health of people, to decrease certification costs and so on.

The participants of the action plan to gather on May 1, at 10 a.m. in the traditional meeting places permitted by authorities in different cities.