BPF Condemns Repression of Its Activists at Parliamentary Election

BPF Party took active part in the electoral campaign. Though official propaganda shouts about our futility, the authorities are really afraid of us. They started direct repressions against the activists of the BPF Party who were nominated candidates or members of initiative groups.

The following candidates of BPF Party have been already fired:
-- Aliaksey Siudak, teacher of history in;
-- Volha Lahvinovich, pedagogical psychologist of Maladechna secondary school No. 12.

Among those who have lost their jobs is Mikola Pratasevich, electrician of the “Liasnyia Aziory” pension, member of the initiative group of the head of Navapolatsk BPF organization Zmitser Salawiow.

There are also a number of candidates who are in danger of being fired:
-- Zmitser Shevel (resident of Lahoysk), worker of the private enterprise “Minauto” the director of which is pressurized by the “vertical”;
-- Ales Mekh (resident of Kobryn) – the administration of Kobryn board of trunk gas-lines at open stock enterprise “Beltranshaz” offered him to write application for retirement from the work on his own free will.

This list is incomplete, because not all victims agree to give publicity to their cases.

There has started the check-up of the individual business activity of Viktar Medziak (resident of Baranavichy) for the last five years. The police burst into the house of Yury Palchewski (Minsk), to offices of the BPF Party in Baranavichy and Hrodna. Local organizations of the party are being checked all over the country. For some unknown reason the police take part in it.

During the extended sitting of the BPF Soym with the participation of the potential candidates that took place on 11 September the central office of the party, in Varvashenia street in Minsk was ringed by five cars with black windows and a police bus. The people who went out of the office were detained. The police searched their belongings.

BPF Party considers this situation as new, very dangerous stage of the state campaign on intimidation of our activists. We ask all citizens, organizations, enterprises and churches to express solidarity with the victims and help them. We urge international democratic community to consider the situation in Belarus on the eve of the election and the referendum as incompatible with minimal criteria of freedom, democracy, justice and transparency of electoral procedures.

Press service of BPF Party