The Protests in Belarus
People in Belarus have been protesting peacefully for over a hundred days. It started after the president, who had been in power for twenty-six years, refused to acknowledge the results of an election on August 9 in which he lost. I have been following the situation since the election.
There were many reports of restrictions on oppositional candidates and then fraud on the election day. People went out to protest, with flowers and old Belorussian flags. Some people brought water to those standing in human chains. The protests every Sunday got bigger and never stopped during the work week.
I was touched to see how everything was done with caring and love. After every march people took any garbage with them and left the streets clean. A few days ago, water supplies to a residential area in Minsk were cut off, and volunteers brought bottled water to people living there.
There has been no central coordination of the protests. Many people have taken leadership and done what they think is the right thing. Working-class people and women have been strong, visible forces. There has been a lot of courage and solidarity.
The government has reacted with a lot of violence. The police and army seem to have been instructed to see the protesters as terrorists who want to destroy the country. Many have been beaten up, arrested, detained, fired from their jobs, or expelled from universities. People bring flowers and share the names of people who have been beaten to death. They also rename little parks and squares after prominent protesters.
One of the protesters is Nina Baginskaya, a retired woman who has shown a lot of strength and courage. (She has been protesting the government’s authoritarian policies since before the Soviet Union broke apart.) I watched a video in which she stood in front of a police bus filled with arrested women, not letting it drive them away. She was looking right at the driver; not moving. Two armed men had to drag her away before the bus could leave.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had run for president after her husband, who had been a candidate himself, was arrested. Her program is to hold free and fair elections. She doesn’t seem interested in taking power for herself. She is now calling all workers to join the national strike until the regime gives up and hands over power to the people. Strikes are already happening in major factories.
Here is what I take into Co-Counseling sessions:
- Memories of participating in protests in my country
- Fear of violence and civil war
- Stories of individuals acting with integrity and not waiting for someone to tell them what to do
- Stories of people acting together in solidarity
- Deciding to have hope
England
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of wide world change
(Present Time 202, January 2021)