A Belarusian Spring: Underground street art, Belsat TV journalists in film by Al Jazeera


In the 25-minute film A Belarusian Spring, Al Jazeera contributors Glenn Ellis and Katerina Barushka explain why ‘non-parasite’ rallies devolved into a wave of protest against Alyaksandr Lukashenka.

On March 25, the Minsk riot police brutally dispersed the protest against the so-called tax on ‘spongers’ introduced by president Alyaksandr Lukashenka in 2015. Hundreds of people – even women, elderly people, journalists and ordinary passers-by – were arrested, battered and jailed. It is noteworthy that the protesters also planned a peaceful celebration of Freedom Day. It is an unofficial holiday commemorating the establishment of the first Belarusian nation-state, the Belarusian People’s Republic, on March 25, 1918. On Sunday, Belarusians came to Kastrychnitskaya Square to show solidarity with detained and beaten.

Belsat TV journalists Ales Barazenka and Larysa Shchyrakova, who had faced persecution by the Belarusian regime during the protests, appeared in the film.

Ales Barazenka was arrested when performing his professional duties and covering the Freedom Day rally on March, 25 . He was sentenced to 15 days in prison for allegedly swearing.

Larysa Shchyrakova was repeatedly fined for contributing to Belsat TV. Moreover, the Belarusian police threatened to take son away and put him into a state-owned orphanage.

Unknown artists have repeatedly expressed their outrage about the domestic policy of the authorities. In early March, a portrait of Maryana Shchotkina, a former Minister of Labour and Social Protection, appeared on the fence wall not far from Independence Avenue in Minsk. After the crackdown on protesters on March 25, passers-by had the chance to see the image of Dzmitry Balaba, commander of the Minsk riot police, on the wall not far from Minsk city executive committee. “It is him who gives orders to disperse peaceful gatherings of citizens – he lives off our taxes!” the inscription said. The report by Al Jazeera contains unique shots of the creation of the image on the q.t.

Belsat.eu

TWITTER