Dancing With The Rake

The jubilee of BPR was marked with the concert and mass arrests.

Sunday, the celebration day of the national holiday of Belarus, started on Wednesday. Poet and politician Uladzimir Nyaklyayew was arrested first. Activists Maksim Vinyarski and Vyachyslau Siuchyk were next. The next day Leanid Kulakou was arrested. On Friday Jauhen Afnahel was arrested; the riot policemen wondered if there were children in the apartment, as they wanted to break in. They were subject to 10-day arrest unserved yet.

The Belarusian authorities have recently come up with a new trick: administrative hearings without any summons.

It turned to be really useful. A person is sentenced to 15 days of arrest, but there is neither arrest nor notice. The person lives an ordinary life, but when it is needed - on the eve of a protest - he is handed in a court decision made six months ago and taken to serve the arrest. It's tricky and useful. I think Belarus is the only country, whic has come up with it.

And it would be fine, if it was about protests. But March 25 is a great holiday for Belarus. It's 100 years since the proclamation of the Belarusian People's Republic (BPR). As significant as the centenary of independence, which is celebrated by Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Slovakia, Croatia and other European countries this year. Belarus had a chance to gain independence in 1918. The history of BPR did not last long, at the end of the year Bolshevicks started creating BSSR as soon as German troops left the Belarusian territory. But for the proclamation of independence, there was no BSSR; it means that there would have been no modern Belarus and the entire territory would have been a Russian one. So March 25 is a true holiday. However, the Belarusian authorities do not accept this holiday. Perhaps, the very history of BPR (Belarusians came together and proclaimed independence) is frightening for every totalitarian regime. It's not allowed to gather and make decision, officials are designed for it. This year President of Poland Andrzej Duda congratulated the Belarusians on the BPR anniversary, and Aliaksandr Lukashenka did the same but for Greece.

This holiday has always been officially restricted, events held on Freedom Day (March 25) became protest. A year ago traffic was stopped in the centre of the city, streets and passages were blocked with paddy wagons and riot policemen. There was a dispersal, people were detained and beaten. However, there were water cannons used that day.

But the Belarusian society decided to spend the centenary of BPR without protests.

In December 1917 Belarusian statesmen, aristocrats, scientists held the first All-Belarusian Congress amid pressure of Bolshevicks in the east and German army in the west. Almost two thousand people - representatives of all counties, provinces, districts, political parties, national minorities - participated in it. Delegates accepted the right of the Belarusians to self-determination and democratic rule. The Rada of the future People's Republic was elected.

On March 25 the Rada adopted the Third Charter in the German-occupied Minsk. It stated: "Now we, the Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic, throw out the dependence yoke of Russian tsars. Effective immediately, the Belarusian People's Republic is Independent and Free State. All nations living in Belarus and represented by the Constitutive Congress will inform about future foreign ties of Belarus.

In the end of 1918 Bolshevicks entered the city and started creating the BSSR as soon as German troops left Minsk. BPR founders were exiled. However, some of them accepted the Soviet power and came back. But it lasted unless they were executed.

The organizing committee, which included writers, politicians, businessmen, bloggers, public activists, artists, activists, determined the format of the jubilee: the festive march (without any slogans, only with national flags) from Yakub Kolas Square to the Opera House, and then food-court, concert, entertainments for children, souvenirs with BPR symbols. The application was filed to the City Executive Committee, the press-conference was held, appropriate information was provided. The authorities accepted the concert and forbidden the march. The concert area will be fenced and you can dance and sing there. We even allow you to install a memorial plate in honor of the centenary of BPR. But the march, even a festive one, is not allowed. You'd better just dance.

And then, as they say, "opinions are divided".

The one accepted the concert and no march, the other headed by former political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich stated that the march with national flags would take place anyway.

Participants will march to the concert not violating traffic rules and without chanting anti-governmental slogans. Politicians and analysts made cautious predictions that no dispersals would take place, but organizers would be summoned to court and would be either fined or arrested. However, the forecast did not score.

In the morning of March 25, mass arrests began not only in Minsk. Activists were arrested in Babruisk, Maryina Horka, Brest, Maladzechna, Slutsk, Kobryn. Those who were going to Minsk were also taken off the transport. Meanwhile, journalists were captured in Minsk. The organizer of the march Mikalai Statkevich, who did not leave the house for several days not to be preventively detained, was captured near his house.

Documentary film director Volha Mikalaichyk known for her participation in every protest actions was also watched near her house since Wednesday. She hung out a poster "Aunt Volha is not at home". It did not work.

Six human rights activists who came with certificates and wearing vests to watch the situation on Yakub Kolas Square were immediately dragged into minivans and taken away. 90-year old Aliaksandr Karizna, almost the age-mate of the BPR, was pushed into a paddy wagon. He said: If I stay alive, I will come to the Opera House." He remained alive, but he did not reach it. In total, more than a hundred detainees were taked to different police departments by paddy wagons and minivans.

And later those who were on the way to the authorized concert started to be detained. On Niamiha Street, one block from the Opera House, people going on a holiday with flags, balls and ribbons were pushed into paddy wagons. They took them to the Tsentralny police department and came back to get other "portion" of those who brought symbols allowed on that day. But the concert was held, a festive one. However, the audience also split into two parts. Ones said it was not good to have fun when there are detentions and the police lawlessness two stops away, others responded they were the one to blame - they spoiled the holiday, then let them suffer. Organizers decided to "wait out" and rejected posters "Freedom to political prisoners!".

But those who blamed "radicals" of the spoiled holiday are not right. Yes, many things were wrong. Yes, everyone behaved like children and let themselves be deceived by the authorities, which used the divide-and-conquer principle and enjoyed results. Yes, the holiday was still great, because twenty thousand people held white-red-white flags in one place. There were Belarusian rock, the letter of Sviatlana Alexievich for participants in the celebration, choir singing. And it was really great and inspiring.

However, right behind the fence flags turned into unauthorized ones like in a fairy tale about Cinderella.

All those who left the concert ground were demanded to immediately hide all symbols. Journalist Adariya Hyshtyn who left the ground with the flag on her shoulders near the Opera House was immediately put in a police minivan and taken to the police department.

And supporters of the march were not those to blame for the spoiled holiday, but those who were not capable of keeping in their own primitive reflexes, which make them use their batons, beat, and push into paddy wagons, insult elderly people, burst with anger at the sight of a flag or a ribbon, and hate to death fellow citizens. Those who still do not afraid of resisting the regime and who refuse obedient after twenty or even ninety years under totalitarianism.

Iryna Khalip, Novaya Gazeta