Mikalai Statkevich: Lukashenka Is Now More Scared Than Ever

The politician has told how the Western Belarus is different from the Eastern.

Leader of the Belarusian National Congress Mikalai Statkevich held meetings with residents of Brest, Lida, Hrodna, Slonim and Baranavichy as a part of the pickets to collect signatures.

The politician told Charter97.org about what happened at the meetings:

- From Friday to Sunday we traveled to five cities: Brest, Lida, Hrodna, Slonim and Baranavichy.

The general mood of people at all meetings in all these cities has already been expressed by us with the slogan that hangs on the stands at the pickets for collecting signatures: “Lukashenka must leave.”

This slogan causes sympathy and fear at the same time in many people, especially in small towns. People who stand in pickets to collect signatures say that there are much more sympathizers than those who came to sign. Many times more people observe pickets from aside, from windows, from afar. These people also support the slogan “Lukashenko must leave”, but they think that if they come out with it now, riot police will jump out of the ground. They don’t understand that Lukashenka is now more afraid than ever, that he was given red flags in the West at the time of the “election”.

Therefore, I always tell people: I came to you to share our courage and our determination.

It is very pleasing that under the slogan “Lukashenka must leave” a huge number of people come to sign up for the initiative group of the presidential candidate from the Belarusian National Congress.

When dozens of people in one hour enroll in the team of Lukashenka’s “main enemy” - this suggests that people are overcoming their fear.

In every city, the authorities try to stop us. To scare our people with warnings for slogans at the stands - we have already passed this stage. Now they began to send provocateurs. As a rule, these are some strange “pensioners”, probably with pensions for service in the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who tell them how “they live well”. But people quickly recognize who is who, and they themselves neutralize such provocateurs.

In general, I have the impression that the people in the west of Belarus have more hope and more energy.

I was particularly impressed by Slonim, where about 150 people came to the meeting. Young, energetic men came up to join the initiative group of the presidential candidate from the BNC, offer their help and talk about their determination.

Often people take a microphone and talk about what is happening in their city. Yesterday, a woman in Slonim very accurately, emotionally, soulfully spoke about what was happening with our country.

She took a microphone and answered the “brigade of pensioners-provocateurs”, whom they often send to our meetings. She said: “Look where our country is going. When young people have no work, when salaries become less than pensions, when young people leave, when the bosses sit on our heads and rob everyone while the country is sinking. The neighbors rise, and our language is disappearing, and Lukashenka sells our future to Russia.” It was very piercing - the people simply applauded her, it really came to everyone, one might say, got into the heart.

- What is your greatest impression of the trips to the cities in the west of Belarus?

- Belarus is waiting for changes. People have not yet completely overcome their fear, but the country is waking up. Now a lot of people have signed up for the initiative group of the presidential candidate from the BNC. These are the people who are not afraid to give their data and contacts, and declare their readiness to participate in our work.

This is a new, democratic force. The real democratic force. I hope that by the end of this campaign, thousands will join my initiative group. This will be a truly new political force led by the BNC.

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