FOR FREEDOM! :: Charter'97 :: News

More than 10,000 Belarusians have taken part in celebration of Freedom Day in Minsk today. The 89th anniversary of the Belarusian People’s Republic has been marked by mass rallies and meetings. Europe which was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the European Union foundation, was following the opposition rally in Minsk. A vice president of the European parliament Janusz Onyszkiewicz, deputies of the European Parliament, of parliaments of Poland, Slovakia, Germany, the leader of the Union of the Right Forces (Russia) Nikita Belykh, a deputy of the State Duma (Russia) Vladimir Ryzhkov, ambassadors of the EU countries and the USA.

The authorities haven’t allowed people to celebrate the national holiday in the center of the city, having gathered together policemen and riot policemen to October Square, and having arrested preventively more than a hundred of oppositionists.

The center of the city had been blocked since morning. Vicinity to October Square where the rally had been planned, had been cordoned off. The subway station and pedestrian underpasses were blocked. Restaurants, cafes, large shops near the planned place of the rally hadn’t even opened. The regime obviously feared repetition of last year events, when dozens of Minsk dwellers stayed on the square protesting against falsified election results.

An absurdity of the situation was increased by the fact that only people having tickets for a ballet “Swan Lake” in the Palace of Republic at 11.30 a.m., could get through a special railing around the square.

However, people started assembling near the blocked square, near the State Department Store. When there was no space left, demonstrators were squeezed away from October Square. The leader of the democratic forces Alyaksandr Milinkevich through a megaphone managed to congratulate the Belarusians on Freedom Day. He called upon policemen not to interfere with marking the national holiday peacefully. However, his calls hadn’t been heard.

Policemen from a special task regiment (former riot police) started to push people on their backs by truncheons and fists. The demonstrators were forced to turn away from Haradski Val Street from Independence Avenue. People were trying to pass through Internatsyjanalnaya Street, however a line of policemen was standing there as well. Policemen were brutal and unceremonious. Alyaksandr Milinkevich, who tried to persuade policemen to let people into the center of the city, was beaten.

People started to gather on the opposite end of October Square, near the Circus. They were not allowed to enter the square as well. Internal troops task force commander Dzmitry Paulichenka with his brigade, was in charge of this part of the city. And a commander of riot policemen Yury Padabed was in charge of a “mopping-up” operation near the State Department store. They both a blacklisted by the EU and USA and cannot enter these countries as people responsible for brutal disbanding of peaceful protests and as suspects in abductions of Belarusian opposition leaders.

By 1 p.m. a column moving along Independence Avenue managed to march along Nyamiha Street and turn into Victors’ Avenue. However passages to the Palace of Sports and Bahdanovich Street were blocked. Peaceful protesters who have come to the holiday with flowers, were standing near riot policemen with truncheons and asked them not to commit a crime and let them to the avenue, to give them an opportunity to celebrate the holiday in a correct way. People lifted their hands showing their peaceful intentions.

However, they hadn’t been heard. Protesters were brutally squeezed away to yard of “Maskva” cinema. Policemen have almost broken shop windows of restaurants nearby.

From Melnikajte Street demonstrators in small groups went to the Academy of Science, where a second column of people from near the Circus was moving as well. Protesters were holding white-red-white flags, EU flags, flags with Minsk emblem, flags of Belarusian political parties and movements. Slogans “Freedom to political prisoners!”, “Freedom to Kazulin!”, “Belarus to Europe!” were seen in the columns.

Near the Academy of Science a mass meeting was held. Alyaksandr Milinkevich congratulated everybody on the holiday, Freedom Day, and told that the Belarusians have showed that they want to live in a free and independence state. The Belarusians who have gathered in the center of Minsk greeted Angela Merkel’s words: “Today [Belarusians] are celebrating their independence day. Our thoughts are also with them today and our message to them is: human rights are indivisible! Europe is with you!" These words were told at the summit of the EU member countries in Berlin, where the 50th anniversary of the European Union was celebrated.

The leaders of the Belarusian Popular Front Party, the United Civil party, vice president of the European parliament Janusz Onyszkiewicz, deputies of Polish Sejm, leaders of the Union of Right Forces (Russia) and “Mussavat” (Azerbaijan) were present at the meeting. In his address vice president of the European parliament Janusz Onyszkiewicz answered to declarations of the Belarusian regime about their readiness to cooperate with Europe. He stated that by personal experience he has learnt today that Belarus is not a free country, and is ruled by a dictator.

After the meeting a column of mostly young people, went along Independence Avenue to the National library, where an official concert under a slogan “Independent Belarus” was held. But public had been taken there from enterprises, schools by buses. However, for the first time in the last 13 years the regime has recognized the holiday on March 25, which is a victory of the opposition.

Policemen again tried to prevent people from nearing the library. They were demanded to hide EU flags and national flags. Then young people started to call upon policemen to let people pass, not to divide the nation into “friends and foes”, not to sow the seeds of enmity. Riot policemen were standing silently, only some of them repeated that “they have just been given an order not to let people pass”. However, after 15-minute negotiations with demonstrators policemen made concessions. People could walk along Independence Avenue up to the National library. The “pro-regime” concert was urgently finished. The presenter Alena Spiridovich told in a rapid speech that “Belarusians are for independence”, and the concert was finished.

Several hundreds of people had already gathered by the library when the demonstrators came there. The stage was empty. Street washing vehicles arrived to the library. Housing services workers in orange vests together with the police pushed the people away from the square.

Youth leader Mikita Sasim came out to the stage nearby the library and addressed the public:
“Today despite all the obstacles we have proved that we are one people that want to live in Europe in a free and independent state. And no matter what the powers do today - they cannot turn the time back, as well as it is impossible to part us. We are the people!”