Page 15 - bne Newspaper 170317

Eastern Europe
March 17, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
A group of far-right Ukrainian nationalists and pro-government veterans of the Donbas conflict announced in December their intention to block trade with coal-producing eastern parts of the coun- try that are controlled by Russia-backed rebels in protest at continued trade with the separatist region.
The rail blockade led to acute shortages of anthracite coking coal, which accounts for one-third of all elec- tricity generated in Ukraine. Poroshenko accused the protesters of inflicting broad damage to the state, citing harm done to the population and also key industries like metallurgy by the fuel shortages.
Belarus uses carrot-and-stick tactics to quell unemployed tax protests
bne IntelliNews
Anti-government protests that broke out in sev- eral Belarusian cities in the past few weeks now seem to be losing momentum. They have not seri- ously damaged the country’s authoritarian Presi- dent Alexander Lukashenko domestically, nor have they had a major impact on his foreign policy course, which aims to improve relations with the European Union in order to obtain additional lev- erage in the ongoing Belarus-Russia dispute.
Protests against the BYN360 (€180) payment to the state budget for people who failed to pay taxes to the government in 2015 but resided longer
that 183 days in the country that year started in Belarus a month ago. However, the demands of protesters, headed by opposition activists, grew
to include broader anti-government slogans, including calls for free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections.
On March 15, up to 2,000 people took to the streets of Minsk (population of around 2mn), and some 800 people turned out in the regional cen- tres Grodno and Mogilev.
Observers and journalists believe that the protests have become less crowded, with a significant role in this diminishment being played by traditional lack of popularity of the Belarusian opposition in society, as well as recent detentions and arrests of participants by the law enforcement agencies.
Dozens of protesters were detained in the course of the latest rallies. In particular, 27 people were arrested following this week’s protest in Minsk. All but one were given jail terms of 12 to 15 days, Be- laPAN news agency reported on March 16.
A new wave of repressions against the opposi- tion was initiated by Lukashenko, who instructed national law enforcement agencies on March 9 to introduce “perfect order in the country” dur- ing anti-government rallies, taking case-by-case measures against protest leaders and the most active participants.
The president urged the imposition of tough measures against “Maidan fanatics”, who went
to Ukraine “to look for the organisers [of anti-gov- ernment rallies] there”, he told a government meet- ing on March 9. “Some 300 to 400 people led by our Maidan fanatics ... will try to instigate aggression. They will find 10 to 20 professionals like those who opened fire in Kyiv [in February 2014]. This will lead to bloodshed and disaster. Therefore, we must do our best to prevent it,” Lukashenko said.
However, under the pressure of the protests, Lu- kashenko instructed his government to suspend collection of the tax during 2017. “Those who already paid the tax in 2016 will not have to pay it in 2017 if they still out of work. If they find a job then the money will be reimbursed on request,” he told his ministers.