On top of the arrests and trials of labor leaders, President Alexander Lukashenko intends to cease the activities of the Independent Trade Union of Belarus (BNP). The dictator considers anyone who is not an officialist as an enemy. He is a worthy puppet of Putin, on whom he depends for political survival. The population is hand-tied by repression. Underground organization and resistance are more necessary than ever. Solidarity with the BNP and all attacked Unions.
After the massive mobilizations against Lukashenko’s electoral fraud, a generalized persecution was unleashed on the people who demonstrated massively in the streets, activists, political opposition and the labor movement.
Targeting Independent Trade Unionism
Although repression is widespread, it has focused on the working class. One of the organizations that suffers systematic attacks is the BNP. Over time its offices have been raided, its activists and leaders arrested and prosecuted up to the arrest of its president Maxim Poznyakov. As a corollary of the elimination of freedoms, the judiciary intends to definitively liquidate independent trade unionism.
Will the BNP be closed?
That is the title of the article we reproduce below, published on 04/07/2022 on the website https://belnp.org/ru/news/open/zakroyut-li-bnp
“On July 12, a meeting of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus will be held to consider the lawsuit of the General Prosecutor’s Office against the Independent Trade Union of Belarus. The prosecutor’s office demands the cessation of trade union activity. Prosecutor General Andrei Shved sent a statement to the Supreme Court on termination of activities of all independent professional associations in Belarus. This became known to the press service of the department. The report of the Prosecutor General’s Office notes that since 2020 the activities of independent trade unions “acquired a politicized character”, and their leaders and ordinary members engaged in “destructive activities”, participated in “unauthorized mass events”, and distributed “extremist products”.
Criminal cases are being brought on all of those actions. In addition to the Independent Trade Union of Belarus, the Supreme Court will consider lawsuits against the Free Trade Union of Belarus, the Free Trade Union of Metalworkers, the Trade Union of Workers of the Belarusian Radioelectronic Industry, as well as the Association of Trade Unions “Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions”.
A preliminary hearing was held a week ago in which a lawyer of the Independent Trade Union participated. She provided the judge with an objection to the lawsuit. The court session was held in closed session. Anticipating the lawsuit filed by the Prosecutor General’s Office, by decision of the local authorities, the primary organizations of the BNP at the Mozyr Oil Refinery, Naftan and Belshina were deprived of registration within six months. The Grodno regional court, at the request of the prosecutor of the Grodno region, decided to recognize the primary BNP organization “Grodno Azot” as extremist, ban its activities and liquidate it with the immediate execution of the court decision. BNP chairman Maxim Poznyakov intends to try to save the union until a decision on its liquidation is made: “We have already lost the primary organizations, we are trying to appeal the decisions, but, frankly, I have little faith in success. If we manage to keep the BNP as a whole at this point, it will be good.” It is worth noting that mass searches, detentions and arrests were previously carried out at independent unions and the BKDP. At least 19 cases are known. Leaders and activists were detained. Under arrest is the vice-president of the BNP Alexander Mishuk.”
A Stalinist dictatorial regime
There is no way to understand the severity of what is happening without knowing that in Belarus there is a Stalinist dictatorial regime, which has been in power for 28 years applying measures similar to those of fascist governments. Repression is intensified to crush those who are not pro-government and to prevent organization against Lukashenko. Anyone who has participated in street demonstrations or opposes the war is considered a “terrorist”, an enemy to be acted upon.
Putin’s puppet
Lukashenko survived the wave of mass mobilizations thanks to Putin’s counterrevolutionary support. Now he returns the precious favor of sustaining him in power with a shameful support for the invasion of Ukraine, imposed with repression. Lukashenko has offered Belarusian territory to the imperialist Russian army as a logistical transfer route and missile launching pad.
Servile without limits
The servility to Russia is of such dimensions that two questions have arisen: Will Belarus join the invasion with troops? Will it be annexed to the Russian Federation? In any of the variants -even without any of them being fulfilled- as long as the dictatorial regimes of Putin and Lukashenko last, there will be no democratic freedoms; only repression and political and economic dependence-submission to the Russian imperialist ambitions cruelly manifested in the war will continue.
Resistance and organization
Although society is restrained and muzzled to express it, we know that the majority is against the invasion of Ukraine, this is ratified by our Belarusian comrades. Wherever and however they could, the people have manifested it, mainly in the heroic actions of the railway workers boycotting the tracks so that the Russian supplies do not reach neighboring Ukraine. The need for a strong revolutionary and socialist organization has gone from urgent to dramatic, although now it must be provided with a structure and clandestine functioning that resists together with the working class.
From the ISL we will continue to deploy our solidarity with the BNP and all attacked unions, with the workers, with the people and with our Belarusian comrades who resist as best they can the dictatorial and warlike onslaughts.