Pavel Seviarynets was met with provocative questions

Pavel Seviarynets, the head of the electoral headquarters and a proxy of the presidential candidate Vital Rymasheuski, holds electoral meetings in the Vitsebsk region. On 1 December he had such meetings in Hlybokaye, Pastavy and Miyory. Two meetings passed quite calmly, but the Pastavy officials tried to disrupt the meeting in the Pastavy House of Culture.

According to Mr. Seviarynets, about 50 people came to the meeting, the same number as in Hlybokaye. The meeting in Miyory took place in the evening, that’s why it was attended by more people. However, the only purposeful attempt to disrupt a meeting has taken place in Pastavy so far.

For instance, a worker of the center of out-of-school education said that one shouldn’t pity teachers as their wages exceeded 1 million rubles ($330). However, this saying just roused indignation among the audience. Nevertheless, those who were trying to start a scandal in the hall, continued. The floor was taken by the head of the ideological department of the Pastavy District Executive Committee. He stated that the Belarusian Christian Democracy (a party, whose representatives Rymasheuski and Seviarynets are) reminded him of a similar structure in the Nazi Germany and one mustn’t elect president a representative of such party.

Pavel Seviarynets says that he had to meet with such provocations earlier and learned to cope with such situations. It is clear that the authorities are sending specially ‘prepared’ people to the electoral meetings of oppositional candidates or their proxies to turn them into arguments and prevent common people from asking their questions.

Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections