Thousands of entrepreneurs all over Belarus went on strike in a bid to protest laws stifling small business, the strike`s leaders said overnight
Published:
16 February 2004 y., Monday
Over 35,000 people joined the one-day action on Thursday to support 36 businessmen who went on hunger strike in Belarus`s north-eastern town of Vitebsk last week.
Vitebsk authorities prompted the hunger strike by upgrading the status of local markets and shopping centers, thus stepping up small business`s tax burden, leader of the entrepreneur union Perspectiva Leonid Malakhov said.
"The buying ability in the provinces is very low, so businessmen can barely scrape by, and even a small increase in spending will mean bankruptcy for them," Malakhov explained.
"They went to this extreme out of despair," he added.
The wide-spread strike had Belarus`s authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko call on Vitebsk authorities to compromise with the hunger strikers, who "may be right in some things."
"If we allowed them to trade, that means we have taken on responsibility for these people," Lukashenko told Vitebsk administrators.
Šaltinis:
charter97.org
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
The Champs Elysees rings in the holiday season with a festive lighting display.
more »
Westminster Abbey is confirmed as the venue for the wedding of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011.
more »
15,000 pilgrams flock to see official unveiling of the world's tallest statue of Jesus in Poland.
more »
Muslims in Bangladesh go to market to buy livestock to slaughter for the approaching holy Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
more »
Ten–year strategy for people with disabilities so they can take part in all aspects of daily life across the EU.
more »
Ahead of the Africa-EU Summit taking place from 29-30 November in Libya, the Commission presents today its proposals for a consolidation of the Africa-EU relations.
more »
Average CO2 emissions from new cars sold in the EU dropped by 5% last year, the biggest annual fall ever recorded, a report published today by the European Commission shows.
more »
Baby koala fights for her life in Australia after being injured by shotgun fire.
more »
Plans to give consumers more control over how personal information is collected and used.
more »
A severe drought pushes river levels in Brazil's Amazon region to record lows, isolating communities and strangling vital boat transport links.
more »