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
Nine nominations for the 2010 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought have been tabled by EP political groups or groups of over 40 MEPs.
more »
As the primary source of daily noise, pollution and congestion, car traffic relentlessly erodes our health and quality of life.
more »
The European Parliament hosted the 9th Conference of Parliamentarians from the Arctic region from 13-15 September in Brussels.
more »
Get on your (electric) bike! That's the message of some cycling groups who are currently holding an exhibition of electric bikes outside the European Parliament.
more »
Philippine officials search for the mother of a baby, found dumped in a rubbish bin on board a Manila-bound Gulf Air plane.
more »
Millions of Muslims in Bangladesh prepare to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
more »
The European Parliament has voted to revise legislation on animals used for scientific purposes.
more »
Sausage dogs take to the streets of Cracow in medieval fancy dress to celebrate the 600th anniversary of 'The Battle of Grunwald'.
more »
EU Member States should take positive discrimination measures to improve the lives of older women, including paid leave for carers, says Parliament in a resolution voted on Tuesday.
more »
Tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers gather at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque to celebrate 'Laylat al-Qadr' - one of the holiest nights of Ramadan.
more »