Witness: When they started using gas people ran away from police van

Euroradio: Was there brutal beating of people, detentions, in reality?

Dzianis: “Yes, it was a dispersal of a peaceful action”.

Euroradio: How many people were detained?

Dzianis: “I cannot say this. I think there were a lot, taking into consideration the fact that another police van arrived”.

Euroradio: How did it all start, what was the reason?

Dzianis: “It was a totally peaceful action at the pedestrian way. When our city authorities arrived (regional authorities in fact - Euroradio), they started the conversation as follows - the governor said:"Not all of you will go home tonight"... This is how he started talking to people. However, people responded. They listened to the Governor, he promised to try and do something. Everyone listened to him and everything was good. People were ready to go off the road approximately 10 minutes before the dispersal started. There were concrete questions about what to do in a situation like this. And then riot policemen arrived. People stopped listening to the Governor and moved closer to the pedestrian way”.

Euroradio: Was there some kind of a conversation with riot police?

Dzianis: “When there was the first wave, people held hands, sang our anthem and the first wave of riot police stepped back. Then there was the second wave, which dispersed people in its turn”.

Euroradio: Why do you think did the first wave step back? Did they wait for support, or did Siamion Shapira try to spin out time?

Dzianis: “It did not look like the Governor was expecting police vans to arrive. In fact he found common language with people, there were 10 more minutes to talk to solve all issues, but riot police arrived. It showed that it is not the Governor who rules our city, but someone else”.

Euroradio: What exactly did Shapira say, what did he promise?

Dzianis: “He said he would raise this issue. The problem is not how many liters of fuel can be transported within a day, but that people who were at the Lithuanian border yesterday could not go through the Bruzgi terminal today... They were told, like, you crossed Druskeniki yesterday, went through a water-park, you could bring diesel fuel there”.

Euroradio: Do you have any information about the detained? Will there be trials?

Dzianis: “No, we have no such information, as after dispersal of this peaceful action the people gathered near the police van, and our Governor was also there. Probably this is no good to say "our" Governor, as no one trusts him, and people asked him to facilitate the release of the detainees (people did nothing at all, there were about 15 children under 12, who saw all this and caught this very gas. The governor also caught it). The Governor could not say anything as he was in shock. And then riot policemen started encircling the police van again, they used gas and people ran away from the police van and from the Governor of Hrodna region”.

Euroradio: Who could give the order to disperse people?

Dzianis: “I cannot say for sure. I was standing next to the Governor and I think he did not do this. But I cannot say for sure”.

Euroradio: How many police vans were there?

Dzianis: “There was one in the beginning, they threw people in it. And another one arrived later, when we were leaving”.

Photo — nn.by