Lukashenka Haven`t Heard Vendors :: Charter'97 :: News

80% of markets stopped their work in Belarus. 80,000 market vendors refused to pay new, increased value-added tax to the country’s budget. Thousands of vendors all over the country took to the streets with a demand to cancel the extortionate tax. The largest protest actions took place in Minsk and Hrodna, where about 5,000 people gathered on the central squares of each city. According to the organizers, this is the result of the first day of nationwide strike of vendors in Belarus. However, the authorities do not want to listen to traders. The demands of the traders were not heard by anybody. Lukashenka or representatives of his administration have not met with them. Moreover, the participants of the protest were not allowed to come to the presidential administration. Their way was blocked off by riot police.

The conflict between the entrepreneurs and governmmet started on January 1, 2005, when a new agreement in bilateral trade came into force. After Belarus and Russia transferred to the destination country principle of tax levying, individual entrepreneurs were obligated to pay an 18-percent VAT, whereas previously according to presidential decree #4 their activity was exempt from VAT and was subject only to single tax. It caused prices growth for goods in the internal market of Belarus. Besides, Belarusian goods in Russia could lose competitiveness.

On February 10 sole proprietors held a warning strike with a demand to abolish the VAT (18% of the cost of the goods) for them. 30,000 people signed the appeal to the government. On the same day a special commission consisting of entrepreneurs and members of government was created to solve the conflict. However the talks with the leaders of the entrepreneurs’ movement ended in nothing. On February 17 after the first round of negotiations entrepreneurs stated that further dialogue with the authorities is meaningless.

Today an indefinite national strike of businesspeople with stopping tax payments to the country’s budget has started. Many of them took to the streets to attract attention to their demands. One of the largest protest actions took place in Minsk. About 5,000 people gathered on the October Square in Minsk. People from different parts of the country were there: Baranavichy, Rahachou, Rechytsa, Lepel, Barysau and so on. The vendors were holding placards: “Down with VAT!”, “18% of VAT – Maybe, You Want Us Pay 100%?”, “Just let us work quietly!”, “We are against rise in prices”. On the steps of the Palace of Trade Unions a meeting took place. Leaders of the traders’ movement from different parts of Belarus, oppositional politicians and common vendors from markets took part in it.

The leader of the republican public association “Perspektyva” Anatol Shumchanka, the representative of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union Valery Shauchenka, the leader of the European coalition Mikola Statkevich, deputy head of the United Civil Party Maryna Bahdanovich, the head of the Council of Belarusian intelligentsia Uladzimir Kolas and many others addressed the meeting. Traders from many towns of Belarus in their speeches told about their painful problems: the impossibility to work in such conditions, when the business is loss-making, and impossibility to gain bread for their children. One woman-pensioner who works on the Chervensky market compared Lukashenka with Stalin, saying that he had reduced people to begging.

Participants of the meeting told that they are not going to negotiate with the government of Belarus, as they consider it to be just a puppet, and demanded negotiations directly with Lukashenka, as they are victims of his policy. Except the common slogans “Down VAT!”, the vendors chanted “Lukashenka!”, naively hoping either to be heard by him, or maybe expecting him to arrive to the square.

Instead of Lukashenka vice-prime minister Andrei Kabyakou. He cynically told people standing in the frost for two hours, that there is no strike going on, all markets are working in a usual way, and an overwhelming majority of vendors had paid the VAT. He was catcalled by protesters. His speech was interrupted by calls: “Lies!”, and in the end vendors chanted to Kabyakou “Resign!”. Kabyakou’s proposal to carry out talks with him was hissed off. In the end the official told that he waits traders in the building of the regional executive committee, and went away.

In the end of the meeting which lasted for more than two hours the vendors brought forward a demand to organize negotiations of traders with Lukashenka’s administration before March 4. If they would not be exempted from the VAT, the entrepreneurs will take to the streets of Minsk on March 25, on the Freedom Day.

After the protest’s end a thousand and a half of protesters tried to come to the building of Lukashenka’s administration. However, riot police lines surrounded the building and blocked their way. People were pushed away by force and disbanded. Lukashenka had not heard the traders again.