Four members of Malady Front (Young Front), a youth oppositional organization, announced today the beginning a termless hunger strike. As reported by RFE\RL, Maksim Siamienčyk, Mikoła Packievič, and brothers Šyła, Ivan i Illa, started their action at 14:00, 29 May. Ivan (15) and Illa (13) are under-aged, they study at School #4 of Salihorsk. The guys explained that they chose this method to draw attention of the society to the authorities’ clampdown on the civil activists not only from Young Front but from the whole oppositional movement. Siamienčyk (18) elaborated, “From the beginning of the electoral campaign, what we get is constant arrests and releases, arrests and releases… As soon as a person comes out, he or she gets locked up again. In such conditions, we have to announce a hunger strike. We demand to stop the persecution of youth.” The courageous young men hope that their counterparts in other regions join in.
This news looks pretty saddening. It is way too bad that the Belarusian political climate has deteriorated to such an extent that the only way left for the activists to get through to the dormant society is by self-deprivation… What next? Self-mutilation, corporal punishment (ala Opus Dei)? Or something worse?
In these lines, my utmost belief is that the focus of the Western donors should be on how to break through the information blockage, how to reach the eyes and ears of ordinary Belarusians with the objective coverage. There are some doubts about the relevancy of satellite telecasts to Belarus? Damn, yes, they are relevant!
VOA has launched a TV program for Uzbekistan, and Belarus drifts without a free-to-air independent TV channel. There are many pros and cons in this project, and this undertaking would be very expensive. But a focused investment strategy sometimes can be much more effective than an over-the-top spending on some unimportant stuff.
The young guys have chosen this extreme way of protests, I guess, because nothing else seems to work. But will an average Belarusian ever learn of their action if he or she does not know anything of the persecution of youth in the first place? This whole dictatorship thing does not ring any bells for a village farmer or a factory worker. You will be surprised – many of them have satellite dishes, and yet they are profane about the national news. Leaflets and bulletins hardly work, the Russian television lies or often does not really care about the Belarusian news. Euronews shows just bits and pieces. The independent press has almost evaporated. Unless we go hi-tech and come up with a modern way to disseminate information, we lose the battle.