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Strike on Drazdy

18
Strike on Drazdy

The Belarusians have created their own space, beyond the control of the authorities.

It turned out that it is impossible to drop bombs on Rome, Berlin, London, or Washington: everyone either has children studying there, or relatives living, or business. And then the idea to “bomb Voronezh” arose since Russian officials have no interests there. And this expression means "to respond to external challenges in such a way as to harm their own people."

So Uladzimir Makei, when talking about Western sanctions, said: “Any further tightening of sanctions will lead to the fact that civil society will cease to exist. And this, I believe, will be absolutely justified in this situation." That is, he practically stated in plain text: in response to Western sanctions, the authorities will terrorize their own people.

Thus, Makei is going to “bomb Valozhyn” and signs his own professional incompetence - powerlessness to resolve the conflict diplomatically.

Should Makei be reminded that the sanctions arose for a reason, but in response to the lawlessness of the security forces, the unthinkable pressure on the independent press, the Polish minority, the complete violation of human rights and rights political prisoners in Belarus? I think no. He is not a stupid person, which is confirmed by his previous diplomatic career, and he understands everything himself. But he did not understand - as, in general, all authorities - only one thing. The fact that "bombing Valozhyn" no longer makes sense.

Here is another anecdote - from the times of the USSR. When the Politburo discussed why there is not enough meat in the country, one of the officials said: “We are moving towards communism by leaps and bounds. The cattle can't keep up with us." Makei again failed to keep pace with the development of society in Belarus. After all, he still perceives "civil society" as a "third sector" - non-governmental organizations dealing with issues of interest.

This structure can still be bombed. You can arrest Tatstsiana Hatsura-Yavorskaya, the head of the Zveno initiative, you can interrogate members of the Viasna human rights center, you can close cultural spaces and hubs, you can not give a concert tour certificate. You can try to reduce life in Belarus exclusively to subbotniks and Slavianski Bazaar. This will indeed be a blow to the "third sector" - but not to civil society.

Civil society is different now. Civil society is courtyard chats and telegram channels, mutual aid, district marches, and street concerts. This is "partisanism" - decorating their districts with ribbons, stickers, flags, and posters. These are self-publishing, lectures on ZOOM, and creative channels on YouTube. This is the creation of their own, uncontrollable space, this is Square of Changes, "Maryja Kalesnikava Square," Cascade and Novaya Baravaya, courtyard tea parties, and joint holidays. And, of course, solidarity.

One of the examples of the “bombing of Valozhyn” is already evident. The Belarusian authorities adopted in the first reading amendments to the Labor Code, which stipulate the right of employers to fire workers for administrative arrests and calls for strikes. In response, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has launched an “immediate intervention” procedure that is triggered in an emergency to respond quickly to a workers' rights situation.

It would seem that the authorities of the ILO and other trade unions? But the fact is that the ILO is not a trade union, as is mistakenly believed. The ILO is the United Nations specialized agency dealing with labor management issues.

Now Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, through the states - non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, initiates regular hearings on Belarus in the same UN Security Council. If the UN structure itself, the ILO, joins it, these hearings may have unpleasant consequences for the Belarusian authorities. Thus, in an effort to "bomb Valozhyn," the authorities struck a blow at Drozdy.

The Belarusian authorities stopped broadcasting the Euronews TV channel, allegedly “due to the expiration of the previously issued permission for distribution on the territory of Belarus.” And also, again under the new rules, they blocked the site naviny.online - the "mirror" of the Internet newspaper of the BelaPAN information company Belorusskiye Novosti, which was blocked in August 2020. Maybe the offices of the Ministry of Information think that this will remain without the attention of the international journalistic community?

Incidentally, even here it is not a matter of international reaction. Destroying the independent press, the governing structures are left alone with their own propaganda, which does not give a real picture of the world, which means that it narrows the possibility of making adequate decisions. In this case, the “bombing of Valozhyn” again leads to the loss of power - not only in the image sector but for a long time they did not give a damn about the image. But also to the real impossibility of making adequate decisions. This means that we should again wait for steps like the command: "Inflation, halt!"

And finally - paradoxical, but indicative news from the world of sports. Brest football team Rukh played three draws in a row. To turn the tide, the players were sent... to one of the collective farms of the Pinsk region, to remove stones from the field. In the next match, Rukh beat Islach - 1:0.

I wonder if the Rukh players felt they were in North Korea? If not, you should take them to collect stones a couple more times. But did any of the professional football players think that such an event is a direct consequence of their silence in August 2020 and statements that their business is not politics but football?

If someone else says: “I don’t get into politics,” look at the Brest football club. Soon they will have to collect stones in the fields of Belarus. And this is not figurative.

Siarhei Salaviou, Novy Chas

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